Malaysia

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Military & Security

Politics

Three KK Super Mart convenience stores in Malaysia were attacked with Molotov cocktails in recent days after selling socks with the word "Allah" embroidered on them, Bloomberg reported on April 5.

Malaysia: Retail Controversy Highlights Divisions Within Ruling Coalition

United States

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Brunei Darussalam

China

Indonesia

Laos

Philippines

Vietnam

Slightly over half of respondents in the 2024 State of Southeast Asia Survey published by Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said that out of the world's major powers, they would prefer to partner with China, an increase of 11.6% since 2023 and topping the United States for the first time, Nikkei Asia reported on April 2.

ASEAN: Annual Survey Shows Turn in Favor of China

Japan

Sri Lanka

Japan is following up on previous commitments to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam by drawing up a new 10-year plan to supply these countries with sustained military assistance through its Official Security Assistance program, or OSA, the South China Morning Post reported on Feb. 13.

Japan, ASEAN: Tokyo Drawing Up 10-Year Plan To Help ASEAN Maritime Countries

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will visit Vietnam the week of Jan. 29, and he will likely sign a memorandum of understanding on coast guard and maritime cooperation, The Maritime Executive reported on Jan. 24.

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries Likely to Sign MoU on Maritime Cooperation

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi acknowledged the existence of the "Dubai Move," a scheme by the opposition Perikatan Nasional, or PN, to poach members of government coalition partner Barisan Nasional, BN, and thereby deprive the government of its parliamentary majority, The Star reported on Jan. 2.

Malaysia: Prime Minister Acknowledges -- but Downplays -- Plot to Collapse Government

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concluded a summit celebrating 50 years of ties where the two sides agreed to enhance investment and maritime security, The Asahi Shimbun reported on Dec. 17.

Japan, ASEAN: Summit Modestly Deepens Economic, Defense Ties

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Large numbers of Indonesian and Malaysian social media users are using TikTok and Facebook to disseminate a boycott list of 121 brands supposedly affiliated with Israel, its supporters or Jewish owners, The South China Morning Post reported on Nov. 6.

Indonesia, Malaysia: Anti-Israel Boycotts Hit Big-Name Corporations

Cambodia

Timor-Leste

Myanmar

Singapore

Thailand

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

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

Assessments

U.S.-China Relations

Malaysia's experienced workforce and neutral status in the U.S.-China rivalry will continue to draw interest to its chip sector, but the country will struggle to move up the value chain.

Malaysia's Place in the Race for Semiconductor Business

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

Malaysian Muslim activists and Palestinian nationals gather to express solidarity with the people of Palestine as they march toward the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 13, 2023. 

Prime Minister Anwar's ardent backing of the Palestinian militant group will help pacify his government's pro-Islam factions, but it may come at the cost of reduced foreign investment and U.S. sanctions.

The Drivers and Risks of Malaysia's Vocal Support of Hamas 

Snapshots

Rare earth elements. Malaysia's recently announced plan to ban exports of rare earth elements is the latest example of the deepening regional trend of resource nationalism.

Malaysia's move will negatively impact its international partners in the sector, but give Malaysia a strategic advantage in the marketplace.

With a Rare Earth Ban, Malaysia Is Poised to Join the Regional Resource Nationalism Trend

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

A woman casts a vote at a polling station during Malaysia's general election on Nov. 19, 2022. 

A poor performance by members of the fragile unity government would portend yet more political instability that could negatively impact the Southeast Asian country's economy.

The Significance of Malaysia's State Elections

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

A voter shows a fading inked finger from casting a vote during Malaysia's Nov. 19 general election on Nov. 22, 2022, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Whatever government emerges victorious will be less able to engage in major domestic reforms and foreign policy initiatives as it contends with a weak mandate.

Whatever government emerges victorious will struggle to engage in major domestic reforms and foreign policy initiatives as it contends with a weak mandate.

A Hung Parliament in Malaysia Portends Further Instability

Mexico

United Kingdom

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Russia

Nepal

A Scottish flag painted on the Union Jack. The British Supreme Court on Nov. 23 will rule on whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to pass a law organizing an independence referendum.

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

The Weekly Rundown: Elections in Nepal, the U.K. Supreme Court Rules on a Scottish Independence Referendum

Media

Podcasts

Asia Pacific analyst Nate Fischler discusses why Maylasia's 2022 ballot will have a bigger geopolitical footprint than the country's size might indicate.

Essential Geopolitics: Why You Should Pay Attention to Malaysia's Election

Southeast Asian governments will need sustained vigilance to prevent a resurgence in localized violence.

Essential Geopolitics: The State of Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia

Malaysia straddles Southeast Asia's key geopolitical divide, between the mainland and the archipelago. Peninsular Malaysia occupies the southernmost tip of Southeast Asia's Malay Peninsula. East Malaysia, however, is on the island of Borneo, over 600 kilometers away across the South China Sea.       Peninsular Malaysia is defined by north-south mountain ranges flanked by coastal lowlands. The nation's core is its west coast from Penang to Johor Bahru, including the capital, Kuala Lumpur. This coastline fronts major east-west trade routes through the Malacca Strait, whose shores are divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Malaysia's primary geographic challenge is to secure this coastline in order to extract revenue from east-west trade. Today, Malaysia's substantial manufacturing center is concentrated in this core region. Johor Bahru also benefits from proximity to Singapore, which left Malaysia in 1965.        Malaysia's ethnic minority Indian and Chinese communities are also concentrated in the core, comprising 30 percent of the population. These groups wield outsized economic power and form the basis of the political opposition. Their population growth is slower than the ethnic Malay majority, creating an increasingly volatile political environment.      East Malaysia makes up 60 percent of the country’s landmass but has only 20 percent of the population. This sparse population is tipped toward the ethnic Malays and is growing in electoral significance. East Malaysia is playing a growing role in energy production — key to sustaining the country’s decades of steady economic growth.     Borneo also fronts the South China Sea, where Malaysia's maritime claims overlap with the claims of the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and China. As Borneo's offshore fields become more important to Malaysia, the nation's South China Sea claims could bring it into conflict.  

SITUATION REPORTS

Malaysia: Retail Controversy Highlights Divisions Within Ruling Coalition

ASEAN: Annual Survey Shows Turn in Favor of China

Japan, ASEAN: Tokyo Drawing Up 10-Year Plan To Help ASEAN Maritime Countries

Philippines, Vietnam: Countries Likely to Sign MoU on Maritime Cooperation

Malaysia: Prime Minister Acknowledges -- but Downplays -- Plot to Collapse Government

Japan, ASEAN: Summit Modestly Deepens Economic, Defense Ties

Indonesia, Malaysia: Anti-Israel Boycotts Hit Big-Name Corporations

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

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