What to Expect from ASEAN: 2022 Onwards Published: 19 January 2022 Opinion The year 2022 brings in not just one or two but a handful of hot button issues to deal with for ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Between economic recovery from the pandemic through to internal civil war within Myanmar and external disputes and alliances, Cambodia assumes Chair of ASEAN with plenty to consider. ASEAN’s culture and intergovernmental model value cooperation but a different kind of multilateralism may be changing the stakes and strategies in negotiation across the ten member states. By Dinna Prapto Raharja
ASEAN's COVID-19 Response: Policies and Perceptions Published: 15 September 2021 Article Southeast Asia is struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid a resurgence driven by the Delta variant, leaving national governments with no capacity to spare on neighbouring countries. At the same time, ASEAN faces a trust problem due to the intangible nature of regional cooperation, and capacity issues associated with the prolonged deadlock over the selection of a special envoy to deal with the political crisis in Myanmar. Nevertheless, the potential for future regional cooperation after the health crisis subsides is within view. By Moe Thuzar
Tourism Struggles to See Its Future in Southeast Asia Published: 24 August 2021 Article The hard-hit tourism industry in Southeast Asia looks for ways out of the pandemic. From promoting domestic tourism to ‘travel bubbles’ to Thailand’s Phuket Sandbox scheme to bring back international travelers, all ASEAN countries are facing novel challenges of the ‘novel’ coronavirus. What are countries doing to counter the disastrous effects on tourism? And what can countries learn from each other? By Vincent Vichit-Vadakan
How Multilateralism Does and Doesn’t Work in ASEAN Published: 18 June 2021 Study Populism, nationalism, and an intensifying rivalry between the United States and China are testing the cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As its 10 member States battle the effects of Covid-19 amid political and territorial crises, the group has struggled to overcome internal differences and address profound external challenges. By Deasy Simandjuntak
Biden and ASEAN: What Can We Expect? Published: 24 March 2021 After US-ASEAN relations suffered under Donald Trump's administration, Joe Biden now promises that US foreign policy will once again focus more on allies. What can ASEAN expect from Biden's presidency? By Khoo Ying Hooi
RCEP: A Trade Pact amidst a Fracturing Factory Asia Published: 14 January 2021 Opinion For the working people of ASEAN, East Asia and the Asia-Pacific, the RCEP’s arrival is puzzling. It has not received a warm welcome from the people at the grassroots. This is so because past and existing FTAs have not delivered the promised gains from a free-trade arrangement: full employment, social protection and well-being for the working people. By Rene E. Ofreneo
COVID-19 and the Climate Crisis in Southeast Asia Published: 18 September 2020 Article At their core, the shared crises of the pandemic, the climate emergency and the plastics habit reflect how human beings view their space in the natural world. By Johanna Son
Sport in Southeast Asia: More than Medals, It’s the ‘We’ Feeling Published: 4 September 2020 Article Despite Southeast Asia’s diversity and the tensions that persist among countries, sport has been able to transcend some geopolitical boundaries and connect communities that have similar histories – and cultivate an appetite and appreciation for their native sport as well as identity. By Johanna Son
Environmental Impact Assessment in Southeast Asia Published: 12 May 2020 Research Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been established in Southeast Asia for over 40 years. Each ASEAN Member State, with the exception of Singapore, has a formal and legally binding system of environmental impact assessment for major project that may have a significant environmental or social impact. By Matthew Baird
Toward a “Cohesive and Responsive” Region: Vietnam’s Priorities and Challenges for Its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020 Published: 11 November 2019 Article Vietnam’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2020 is particularly important in the transition year focusing on strengthening ASEAN's sustainable cohesion, both in political and security issues and in economic and social matters. To guide the year of the chairmanship, Vietnam has studied and proposed long-term initiatives and Hanoi also hopes that even after the chairmanship of Vietnam has ended, its proposed initiatives will be continuously promoted and implemented in the upcoming year. By Truong-Minh Vu