Snapshots

United States

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

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.

Military & Security

Politics

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

U.S.-China Relations

Media

Taiwan

Graphics

Chinese maritime militia vessels float near the Philippine-controlled island of Thitu, which Filipinos call Pag-asa, in the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on March 9, 2023.

Recent incidents in the South China Sea illustrate the competing interests of claimant states amid increasing militarization.

A Look at Recent Incidents in the South China Sea

Assessments

A Chinese coast guard ship sails past anchored Philippine fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on Feb. 3, 2023.

A binding code of conduct in the South China Sea remains unlikely, despite the resumption of negotiations between claimant states.

With No Deal in Sight, South China Sea Claimants Continue to Militarize

Australia

Japan

New Zealand

South Korea

India

A photo taken on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a video call with leaders from countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. 

Economics

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The narrow scope of the initiative will limit its effectiveness in achieving Washington’s goal of countering China’s regional rise.

The Stumbling Blocks of Biden's New Indo-Pacific Economic Bloc

Supply Chains

Columns

On Geopolitics

Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands on April 21, 2017. Now that the State Department has issued a new position statement, China and the ASEAN states will be watching to see how far U.S. words translate into action.

Southeast Asia: Burdened by Consensus

Now that the State Department has issued a new position statement, China and the ASEAN states will be watching to see how far U.S. words translate into action.

In the South China Sea, Washington Tries to Balance Support and Entanglement

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

The move marks the first time Washington has taken an official position on specific Chinese claims in the contested waterway, adding to mounting U.S.-China tensions.

What to Make of the U.S. Rejecting China's Claims in the South China Sea

Modernizing China’s Military

A Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills Jan. 2, 2017, in the South China Sea.

Environment, Science & Technology

China and the United States are not so distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic that they cannot assert strategic interests in the South China Sea.

Even a Pandemic Does not Stop the South China Sea Competition

COVID-19

2020 Second-Quarter Forecast

Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, the Asia-Pacific region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. 

Asia-Pacific

<p>The Asia-Pacific is home to more people than any other region. Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, this region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. Several of these countries, most notably China, experienced rapid economic growth in the second half of the 20th century, giving the region a new sense of global economic relevance that continues today. That relevance, however, depends largely on China, a power in transition whose rise is testing the network of U.S. alliances that have long dominated the region. How effectively Beijing manages its transition will shape the regional balance of power in the decades to come.</p>

2020 Annual Forecast

2019 Fourth-Quarter Forecast

2019 Third-Quarter Forecast

The proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, would encompass almost half the world's population and a third of its economic output.

Globalization

For all it encompasses -- 16 countries, almost half the world's population and a third of its economic output -- the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership's boost to trade will remain modest as long as it sidesteps nontariff barriers.

Asian Free Trade Proposal Is Broad in Scope, Narrow in Focus

Timor-Leste

Rice prices are up more than 40% in Southeast Asia since late 2022 amid India's rice export ban instituted on July 20 and El Nino conditions that are reducing rice output from harvests, BenarNews reported on Sept. 29.

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Kao Kim Hourn, the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the bloc and Japan will elevate ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" before or during a special summit celebrating 50 years of relations in December, Kyodo News reported March 8.

Japan, ASEAN: 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Is Forthcoming

Cyber

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) circulated an alert revealing that Chinese-linked hackers stole 30 GB of data and over 10,000 emails from ASEAN countries and the ASEAN secretariat in February 2022, BenarNews reported March 3.

China, ASEAN: Trove of Stolen Data Revealed Ahead of South China Sea Negotiations

During U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Tokyo, Japan, he announced the basic framework for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which seeks to create standardization across nations and new, redundant supply chains to prevent future disruptions, Reuters reported May 23.

Asia-Pacific: Biden Unveils Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Basics

ASEAN leaders met U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, and Biden announced that the United States would invest $150 million in special funding in the region, The Straits Times reported May 13.

ASEAN: U.S. Announces Investment in Region After Leaders Meet Biden in Washington

Canada

Chile

Mexico

Peru

United Kingdom

The members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on June 2 accepted the United Kingdom's bid to begin the accession process to join the trade bloc, the British government announced.

U.K.: British Bid to Begin CPTPP Accession Process Accepted

China in Transition

China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have signed the massive Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at a regional summit in Hanoi, Reuters reported Nov. 15. 

Asia Pacific: 15 Countries Sign RCEP, Forming World’s Largest Free Trade Bloc

India's Own Worst Enemy

India might be willing to trim or remove tariffs on 80 percent of Chinese goods in five phases over 20 years, Financial Express reported Sept. 30, citing sources briefed on the latest Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations.

China, India: New Delhi Considering Tariff Cuts That Would Facilitate Trade Deal

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Maldives

Malta

Ukraine

Belize

Botswana

Iran

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Germany

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

Burundi

Finland

Israel

Nepal

Cameroon

Georgia

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Federated States of Micronesia

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Libya

Russia

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

SITUATION REPORTS

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Japan, ASEAN: 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Is Forthcoming

China, ASEAN: Trove of Stolen Data Revealed Ahead of South China Sea Negotiations

Asia-Pacific: Biden Unveils Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Basics

ASEAN: U.S. Announces Investment in Region After Leaders Meet Biden in Washington

U.K.: British Bid to Begin CPTPP Accession Process Accepted

Asia Pacific: 15 Countries Sign RCEP, Forming World’s Largest Free Trade Bloc

China, India: New Delhi Considering Tariff Cuts That Would Facilitate Trade Deal

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