Southeast Asia

South China Sea: The need for a lasting solution

The developments in South China sea (SCS) during the months of March and April has brought the region to the limelight again. The countries...

Vietnam’s agenda for ASEAN 2020 meetings

The online informal meeting of ASEAN is scheduled to take place on April 14 to discuss ways and means to collaborate jointly to fight...

In the midst of a pandemic, the EU must suspend its proposed palm oil ban

The world is finally waking up to the realization that the Coronavirus pandemic could result in a global death toll in the millions - if not...

Vietnam as ASEAN Chair and UNSC non-Permanent Member

Vietnam took the charge as ASEAN chair from its predecessor Thailand in November 2019, and the agenda for the year 2020 is diverse and challenging. The...

Russia-Indonesia: 70 years of friendship

“Jauh di mata, dekat di hati .” This is how Lyudmila Georgievna Vorobieva, Russian ambassador to Indonesia, characterized the relationship between the two countries. In fact, in the...

South China Sea of brewing troubles and its implications for India

For years, China, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam have contested overlapping claims to hundreds of coral reefs, features, and islets in the South China Sea....

Political advantage through aid or trade: India’s knee jerk on Malaysia and Turkey

In today’s market economy, no country can live in economic isolation (sakoku).  The USA (or its proxy India) has a flexible format to dub or delete...

Youth for Youth: YALPI in Thailand

BANGKOK - 100 young people from all over ASEAN and Asia spent their weekends in Chulalongkorn University, Thailand thinking of the best possible ways to improve ASEAN...

Formal Recognition for the Rohingya Genocide

Today, January 31st, is Franz Schubert's birthday and, as I write, the strains of the final movement of his last symphony "The Great"  play in the background...

Indo-Pacific Region: A hotspot of rivalry

The Pacific region in post-Cold-War period is fast changing its strategic complexion. This region had been under United States’ influence. But, the USA and its proxies like...

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