Drawing on her decades of experience in Cambodia’s pro-democracy movement, we discussed the country’s democratic decline, the growing influence of China, and the crucial role the international community — and Cambodia’s youth — must play in shaping a freer future.
Read MoreThis month, Zsuzsa and Richard are joined by James Crabtree. Together they examine how recent developments in the Middle East are (re)shaping Europe's relationship with Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region. They also explore how key Asian powers are responding to perceptions of Europe's shifting role on the global stage.
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Read MoreWritten by Aniello Iannone
France now joins a growing list of Indonesia’s strategic partners. It was a strategic moment in which a major European state and a rising regional middle power found common ground in their shared search for autonomy.
Read MoreWritten by Nicholas Bequelin
The paradox of Sino-European relations is that, while they are fundamentally in poor shape and unlikely to find a way out of their current impasse, they are also remarkably stable.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Slingbaum
In the coming months, South Korea should remain focused on its own presidential election and repairing its domestic fabric, but interim leadership can also explore ways to weather Trump’s demands, including by reframing existing efforts, as Canada did with their border plan.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
Southeast Asian anxieties with the Trump administration’s turn toward protectionist trade policies were evident in the May 2025 ASEAN Summit, when the regional bloc expressed ‘deep concern’ with US tariffs.
Read MoreThis month our briefs examine shifting US engagement: new Pacific travel restrictions threaten Washington’s influence, while South Korea’s pragmatic diplomacy may clash with a potential Trump foreign policy reset. Across the region, leaders face a volatile mix of economic strain, diplomatic frictions, and intensifying rivalries — from South Asia’s post-crisis diplomacy to renewed tensions in Southeast Asia and growing unease in East Asia.
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Read MoreWritten by Juliet Lee
It is incorrect to assume that the imposition of tariffs on allies will not impact defence partnerships, and the US risks being left behind by the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic region, where countries see the convergence of security and economic development differently.
Read MoreWritten by Amit Ranjan
Many Nepalese are frustrated and disenchanted with the current political situation and poor government performance. But returning to a constitutional monarchy would be a regressive, authoritarian step, not a path toward democracy.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Wongi Choe
A more fundamental security challenge may emerge from the Trump administration’s evolving defence posture, which could reorient US global military priorities, including troop deployments in South Korea, to better deter China.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Hunter Marston
Despite the opportunity presented by American retrenchment, China lacks the soft power to step in as a natural leader and its economic and political influence continue to be met with suspicion by regional elites.
Read MoreWritten by Arun Teja Polcumpally
To safeguard its internet infrastructure, India must invest in indigenous undersea cable maintenance capabilities, including commissioning Indian-flagged vessels for rapid response within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
Read MoreThis month we cover the India-Pakistan flare-up that reignited nuclear concerns, followed by a burst of regional diplomacy. Our briefs examine how China and India are turning foreign policy into a tool of domestic control — through maritime coercion in Beijing’s case, and treaty-based pressure from New Delhi.
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Read MoreWritten by Dr Sophal Ear
Cambodia offers a litmus test: if Japan can sustain influence there, it may do so across mainland Southeast Asia.
Read MoreThis month, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Richard Heydarian are joined by Stephen Nagy to unpack the significance of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Southeast Asia. Together, they explore what this heightened diplomatic outreach reveals about Beijing’s evolving regional strategy—and what it means for the Indo-Pacific at large, including Europe’s strategic positioning.
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Read MoreWritten by Hannah Hains
It is not yet clear whether Trump will institute a similar targeted tariff for shipping and port infrastructure, as recommended by a new report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on ‘China's Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance’.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Selçuk Çolakoğlu
As the economic centre of gravity shifts from the North Atlantic to the Pacific, Turkey's increasing emphasis on its Asian identity is a strategic move to benefit from the economic rise of East Asian countries and organisations.
Read MoreWritten by Thu Nguyen Hoang Anh
Based on estimates from the Vietnam National Plastics Action Partnership, if the country’s current systems are not improved, the volume of plastics in its waterways could double by 2030.
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