As the rules-based order fragments and US–China strategic competition intensifies, Vietnam is emerging as a middle power seeking to shape, rather than merely respond to, regional and international ...

Alternative shipping routes and geopolitical consequences mean Indonesia cannot replicate Iran’s proposed transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz in the Strait of Malacca or Indonesia’s archipelagic sea ...

Growing uncertainty over US commitment to Asia has encouraged Japan and South Korea to strengthen bilateral ties, driven by shared concerns about regional security and North Korea and despite ...

Japan–South Korea relations have continued to deepen despite a politically mismatched pairing of a conservative nationalist government in Tokyo and a progressive administration in Seoul. This has been ...

When Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi signalled in May 2026 that the BN coalition is likely to contest Malaysia’s 16th general election ...

Yekti Pratiwi is an economist specialising in state asset management within Directorate General of State Asset Management, Ministry of Finance of Indonesia. She has extensive experience in economic ...

For Asia Pacific governments, the US–Israeli war against Iran is a reminder that conflicts in the Middle East do not stay in the Middle East. Since February 2026, oil has surged past US$120 a barrel, ...

Cambodia’s leadership faced an economic crisis in 2025. US tariffs levied by President Donald Trump threatened to collapse Cambodia’s garment exports. At the same time, the Thai government sought to ...

On 27 February 1976, then Japanese prime minister Takeo Miki announced a ‘unified view’ that Japan would ban the export of defence equipment. On 21 April 2026, the government under Prime Minister ...

Despite the impact of super Typhoon Yagi and a stormy geopolitical landscape, Vietnam’s GDP grew by 7.09 per cent in 2024, exceeding international forecast figures. But 2024 was not just a reset for ...

US President-elect Donald Trump's trade policy challenges the post-war global trading system. By rejecting the World Trade Organization's principles of non-discrimination and reciprocity, Trump ...

Since banning raw nickel ore exports in 2020, Indonesia has mounted an aggressive push use its control over nickel resources to drive industrialisation. The government’s ‘downstreaming’ policy — known ...