Written by Shin Kawashima
Japan and other US allies must strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries to address US retrenchment, positioning themselves as credible alternatives for countries seeking to avoid over-reliance on China.
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Written by Yatana Yamahata
Solidarity among Southeast Asians has strengthened pro-democracy movements across the region and, in doing so, fostered a sense of shared regional identity. ASEAN, however, does not mirror nor reinforce this solidarity. Instead, it remains constrained by its founding principle of non-interference.
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Written by Dr. Hunter Marston
With the Trump administration fixated on bilateral trade deals with individual countries, rather than the large multilateral trade deals that have shaped the region’s economic architecture in recent years, the US appears to be yesterday’s story, while Asia has moved on with the new rules of the road.
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Written by Aniello Iannone
ASEAN’s future will not be determined by declarations or summit communiqués. It will hinge on whether the organisation can transcend the comfort of paralysis and confront the contradictions that sustain it.
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Written by Dr Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Indonesia’s foreign service, though respected in ASEAN, has not fully kept pace with the demands of a world where China is central to trade, technology, and security. Without a cadre of China specialists embedded across government and academia, Jakarta risks responding to events rather than shaping them.
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Written by Ophelia Yumlembam
Given the Quad’s and the EU’s ongoing efforts to build resilient and diversified critical mineral supply chains, a more proactive and coordinated approach with other like-minded global actors is urgently needed — before China further consolidates its dominance over Myanmar’s REE resources and, by extension, the global REE supply chain.
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Written by Aristyo Rizka Darmawan and John Bradford
Ratification of the EEZ agreement provides a good opportunity for Indonesia to clarify its position by denying the validity of China’s Nine-Dash Line claim while simultaneously preserving its interests and advancing good relations with an important neighbour.
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Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Julia Gurol-Haller
Together, the EU, Taiwan, and ASEAN can redefine connectivity not as a geopolitical tool for influence, but as a platform for empowerment, resilience, and strategic autonomy in the Global South.
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Written by Eerishika Pankaj and Rahul Karan Reddy
The concern Beijing has with an India-Philippines strategic partnership lies in its signalling of the rise of layered, maritime-centric, military cooperation emerging in China’s periphery — designed to reinforce a rules-based order and deter unilateral changes to the status quo in the global commons.
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Written 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.
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Written 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.
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Written 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.
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Written by Dr Sophal Ear
Cambodia offers a litmus test: if Japan can sustain influence there, it may do so across mainland Southeast Asia.
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Written 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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Written 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.
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Written by Dominique Fraser and Dr Premesha Saha
Indonesia will need to ensure that it carefully balances its commitments to BRICS alongside its responsibilities and obligations within ASEAN and its existing relationships with Western nations like the US and the EU.
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Written by Chhay Lim
Policies that force Cambodia into a binary choice risk deepening its reliance on China and undermining US efforts to maintain influence in Southeast Asia.
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Written by Hunter Marston
While sanctions alone are unlikely to change the military’s behaviour, they are more likely to be effective when part of a broader diplomatic strategy, which is required to resolve the current crisis.
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