This week, we speak with Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Founder of 112Watch and Professor at Kyoto University, about Thailand’s lèse-majesté law (Article 112), political repression in Thailand and Southeast Asia, defending civic space, and the future of the movement against Article 112.
Read MoreWritten by Khyati Singh
The potential to combine Chinese technological innovation with localised implementation means that Southeast Asia could yet transform its demographic challenge from a looming crisis into an engine of economically innovative and socially equitable growth.
Read MoreWritten by Chhay Lim and Chandarith Neak
Without institutional mechanisms that both parties accept as legitimate and binding, border disputes remain vulnerable to escalation and external intervention whenever domestic political pressures or regional tensions rise.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Apila Sangtam
Crucially, reinvigorating key connectivity initiatives such as the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway would serve as both a symbolic and practical demonstration of India’s commitment to regional integration.
Read MoreDrawing 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 MoreWritten by Chetan Rana
Even though Myanmar’s international isolation appears to push it further closer to China, the Sit Tat and the EAOs are simultaneously engaging and contesting with China in different sectors. Beijing will be key in the execution and acceptance of elections planned by the junta.
Read MoreWritten by Meghan Murphy and Bryanna Entwistle
Unable to stop a deadly civil war within its member states, halt transnational crime that crosses its borders, deliver solutions on maritime rights, or mitigate superpower relations, the bloc feels to many as an increasingly irrelevant mechanism in which to conduct foreign affairs.
Read MoreWritten by Varenya Singh and Chetan Rana
China's persistent rejection of the tribunal's jurisdiction and ruling, along with its continuous assertion of sovereignty, underscores the limitations of international legal mechanisms in addressing deep-rooted geopolitical disputes.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
Identifying possible mediators and key stakeholders is critical at this particular juncture, and given the present circumstances we need not let perfect be the enemy of good.
Read MoreWritten by Drake Long
Rather than celebrating each time a country publicly cancels a Chinese project, the US, Australia, the EU, and other nations competing for influence at the expense of Beijing should keep in mind the wider picture — Manila and other capitals like it are shopping around for alternatives.
Read MoreWritten by Marc Saxer
‘Partnerships of the Middle’ recognise the aversion of Asian powers against alliances and offer informal avenues of collaboration to safeguard global public goods.
Read MoreWritten by Joanne Lin
Statistics have shown that although China has a significant degree of influence over Laos, it is certainly not controlling the country.
Read MoreWritten by Mathieu Droin
The brewing Indo-Pacific architecture is inherently “flexilateral” due to the breadth of factors and the rapidly changing stakes that determine its many actors’ positions.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
Some experts suggest Indonesia is likely to propose adopting a seven-vote threshold instead of requiring all ten members to agree on passing a measure. This would go a long way to making the institution more agile, responsive, and decisive.
Read MoreWritten by Kyoko Hatakeyama
Moreover, since Japan has maintained a stable relationship with China — despite their territorial disputes — the region does not have to worry about backlash or anger from China just because they choose Japan over China.
Read MoreWritten by Bec Strating
The IPE constitutes a form of ‘normative seapower’ through efforts to exert influence and shape perceptions within the crowded maritime marketplace of norms, ideas, and narratives.
Read MoreWritten by Marco Neveu and Charlie Thame
Xi’s anti-corruption projects in the mainland seem to have sparked a degree of outward mobility by the triads from the authoritarian domestic core towards the more liminal and experimental periphery of Chinese influence.
Read MoreWritten by Joe Varner
The strategic importance of the Russian Pacific Fleet has never been greater to Moscow than it is now as the key means to engage and support Chinese foreign policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Read More
