1 week ago Can Manila as Asean chair deliver progress on Myanmar and South China Sea code?

As the Philippines prepares to take over the rotating Asean chairmanship next year, Manila faces the daunting task of managing a protracted civil war in Myanmar while pushing for progress on a long-delayed code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. Analysts say Manila must navigate an Asean agenda crowded with difficult trade-offs, balancing the crisis in Myanmar where progress is expected to remain incremental with a COC process facing a 2026 deadline, even as internal divisions within the...

Society

1 week ago How Philippines might navigate Asean’s divisions as it prepares to lead bloc

As the Philippines prepares to take over the rotating Asean chairmanship next year, Manila faces the daunting task of managing a protracted civil war in Myanmar while pushing for progress on a long-delayed code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. Analysts say Manila must navigate an Asean agenda crowded with difficult trade-offs, balancing the crisis in Myanmar where progress is expected to remain incremental with a COC process facing a 2026 deadline, even as internal divisions within the...

Politics

3 w. ago Asean, China, Japan and South Korea hold ‘transformative’ critical minerals opportunity

Southeast Asian economies, along with China, Japan and South Korea, have a “transformative” opportunity to enter the world’s critical mineral supply chain, said Yasuto Watanabe, Director of the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). Critical minerals – essential raw materials for the production of hi-tech gadgets, cars and aerospace equipment – will make the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) supply chain “more resilient and sustainable”, said Watanabe, who also...

Politics

3 w. ago Opinion | How Asean quietly became China’s buffer against US tariffs

Opinion | How Asean quietly became China’s buffer against US tariffs  South China Morning Post

Economics

3 w. ago Will East Timor be Philippines’ new voice on maritime law in Asean?

Poised to take up the Asean chair position, the Philippines’ courting of the regional bloc’s latest member, East Timor, signals its intent to secure a new ally in promoting maritime security among the 11 strong grouping of nations. But analysts say the budding partnership is more likely a symbolic rather than a strategic one, with the Philippines playing more of a mentor role to the newcomer. On the sidelines of the defence chiefs meeting in Kuala Lumpur on October 31, following the Association...

Politics

3 w. ago Philippines courts East Timor as new South China Sea ally in Asean

Poised to take up the Asean chair position, the Philippines’ courting of the regional bloc’s latest member, East Timor, signals its intent to secure a new ally in promoting maritime security among the 11 strong grouping of nations. But analysts say the budding partnership is more likely a symbolic rather than a strategic one, with the Philippines playing more of a mentor role to the newcomer. On the sidelines of the defence chiefs meeting in Kuala Lumpur on October 31, following the Association...

Events

4 w. ago Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Philippines, ASEAN, and the South China Sea

Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Philippines, ASEAN, and the South China Sea  CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Politics