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The Philippines' national security advisor called for the expulsion of Chinese diplomatic personnel allegedly responsible for recording and leaking a purported Jan. 3 phone conversation between a Chinese diplomat and a Philippine admiral, Bloomberg reported on May 10.

Philippines, China: Philippine National Security Advisor Calls for Expulsion of Chinese Diplomats

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected a senator's proposal to outfit Philippine coast guard vessels with water cannons to repel Chinese incursions into the so-called West Philippine Sea, the section of the South China Sea claimed by Manila, Rappler reported on May 6.

Philippines: President Rejects Proposal To Use Water Cannons Against China

United States

Australia

Japan

Taiwan

India

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the U.S. military planned to conduct maintenance on six naval ships in international shipyards in fiscal year 2025 in preparation for wartime contingency repairs in the Indo-Pacific, the South China Morning Post reported on May 3.

U.S., Indo-Pacific: U.S. To Expand Overseas Ship Repair, Bolster Maritime Interoperability

The Philippine coast guard undertook a patrol mission around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, and four Chinese coast guard vessels and six maritime militia vessels responded by deploying water cannons, damaging two Philippine vessels, BenarNews reported on April 30.

Philippines, China: Confrontation at Scarborough Shoal Results in Water Cannon Attack

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Science & Technology

Countries across South and Southeast Asia are issuing extreme heat warnings for at least the next three days, though likely longer, as the region grapples with an extended heat wave, portending health risks, business and school closures, and strained electric grids, VnExpress reported on April 29. 

Southeast Asia: Extreme Heat Wave Creates Health and Business Risks, Stresses Energy Grids

Cyber

The Philippine government announced that a "foreign actor" created a recently circulated manipulated video, or deepfake, that showed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directing military action against China, Bloomberg reported on April 26.

Philippines: Deepfake of President Stirs Tensions With China

India delivered the initial batch of BrahMos cruise missiles to the Philippines under a $375 million agreement signed in 2022, Voice of America reported on April 23. 

India: Philippines Receives Shipment of Indian Supersonic Cruise Missiles

Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States carried out the first exercise under their multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity framework within the Philippines's exclusive economic zone in the disputed South China Sea on April 7, BenarNews reported the next day. 

Australia, Japan, Philippines, U.S.: Navies Begin Large-Scale Multilateral Exercises in South China Sea

Assessments

Brunei Darussalam

Laos

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

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Fiji

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United Kingdom

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

U.S.-China Relations

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center), flanked by two other U.S. officials, is seen during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo (not pictured) on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly at the Lotte Palace Hotel in New York City on Sept. 22, 2023.

A partnership between the three countries will likely improve freedom of navigation and economic security in the South China Sea, but may also raise the risk of trade disputes and conflict with China.

What To Watch for During the Inaugural U.S.-Japan-Philippines Summit

Iran

Israel

Poland

People attend an April 5, 2024, funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in an Israeli strike in Syria.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Threat of Iranian Retaliation Against Israel, Polish Local Elections

Venezuela

Egypt

Europe

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 14, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Dueling U.S. and Chinese Diplomacy, a European Council Summit

Pakistan

Chinese officials at the Fifth Plenary Session of the National People's Congress on March 12, 2023 in Beijing. Beijing will host the annual Two Sessions meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an industry and societal consultative body, and the rubberstamp National People's Congress from March 4-11.

The Weekly Rundown: Pakistan Selects a New Premier, China's Two Sessions

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during a political rally in Manila on Jan. 28, 2024. 

Duterte's growing political dispute with his successor could reignite secessionist sentiment on the Mindanao island and derail efforts to attract investment and maintain close U.S. ties.

Tensions Flare Between the Philippines' Current and Former Presidents

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the gala dinner for the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2023. 

Over the next year, Tokyo will provide ASEAN countries with military equipment and more infrastructure investment, which will raise threat perceptions and further deteriorate Japan's ties with China.

The Implications of Japan's Growing Interest in Southeast Asia

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) delivers an opening address at the start of a bilateral meeting with Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (L) at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 16, 2023.

Laos' vulnerabilities will weaken its ASEAN chairmanship, although the bloc's economic interconnectivity will likely continue to grow.

Laos' Limitations Portend a Lukewarm Year for ASEAN

Snapshots

A photo taken during a Philippine surveillance flight on Sept. 28, 2023, shows a Chinese coast guard ship on patrol near the Scarborough Shoal (seen in the background) in the South China Sea.

The vessel crashes highlight the risk of future crises in the disputed maritime region as China tries to test the U.S.'s commitment to defending the Philippines and the wider Indo-Pacific.

Chinese-Philippine Collisions Bring Attention Back to the South China Sea

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

Media

Podcasts

What's driving the reinvigorated U.S.-Philippines alliance?

Essential Geopolitics: The Impact of Deepened U.S.-Philippines Relations on U.S.-China Tensions

The Philippines is a collection of over 7,000 islands situated at the confluence of the South China Sea, the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean. It forms the outer edge of maritime Southeast Asia, and for much of its modern history has served as a gateway between western powers and continental Asia.     A former colony of both Spain and the United States, the Philippines today consists of three island clusters: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon, with the country’s capital in Manila, is the political, cultural and economic core of modern Philippines. It is highly urbanized relative to the rest of the country, boasts a large port and deep harbor, and accounts for roughly one-third of the Philippines GDP. Mindanao has long been a hotbed for political unrest and insurgent movements and is populated by the predominantly Muslim Moro tribes. It is also an important fruit and produce exporter.    The Philippines is shaped by sharp geographic, economic and social divisions between a primarily urban north — in Luzon — and a heavily agricultural, poorer south. This, along with the fractured island geography, makes effective national integration difficult. It also undermines Manila's efforts to play a stronger role throughout the South China Sea region or guard against external infringement on its territorial waters, especially from China. That weakness is apparent today, as China's increasingly aggressive moves to assert its own maritime claims test Manila's voice in groups like ASEAN as well as its alliance with the U.S.    While the Philippines’ location at the entrance to maritime Southeast Asia makes it geopolitically significant, internal imbalances continue to hamper its ability to actively defend its own claims, let alone project power.

Supply Chains

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

Southeast Asia: Burdened by Consensus

SITUATION REPORTS

Philippines, China: Philippine National Security Advisor Calls for Expulsion of Chinese Diplomats

Philippines: President Rejects Proposal To Use Water Cannons Against China

U.S., Indo-Pacific: U.S. To Expand Overseas Ship Repair, Bolster Maritime Interoperability

Philippines, China: Confrontation at Scarborough Shoal Results in Water Cannon Attack

Southeast Asia: Extreme Heat Wave Creates Health and Business Risks, Stresses Energy Grids

Philippines: Deepfake of President Stirs Tensions With China

India: Philippines Receives Shipment of Indian Supersonic Cruise Missiles

Australia, Japan, Philippines, U.S.: Navies Begin Large-Scale Multilateral Exercises in South China Sea

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