Imagine being told to leave your home — or lose everything in it — because of something happening thousands of kilometres away, caused by people you’ll never meet. That’s not a hypothetical. For millions of people across Southeast Asia, it’s…
For years, Singapore was Southeast Asia’s digital gateway — the default location for the servers, cloud regions, and network hubs that keep the region online. That’s changing. Land is scarce in Singapore and power is tightly rationed, and much of…
If you’ve been on social media today, you’ve probably seen quite a bit of panic about the heavy rain expected across Thailand. The Thailand Meteorological Department has warned that heavy to very heavy rain is expected in several parts of…
The next big race in Southeast Asia may be data centers, not everything else we predict. It may be fought over something far less visible: where the world’s data is stored and processed. Artificial intelligence is creating an enormous demand…
Trump, Xi and ASEAN: What the US-China Rivalry Means for Southeast Asia For ASEAN, what happens between Washington and Beijing matters far beyond diplomacy. The Diplomat Southeast Asia has spent years trying to avoid choosing between the United States and…
Imagine trying to get eleven countries to agree on almost anything. Now imagine those countries have different political systems, different economies, different religions, different relationships with major powers and sometimes completely different national interests. That is ASEAN. The Association of…
China is not part of ASEAN. But try talking about Southeast Asia without talking about China. It is almost impossible. From trade and infrastructure to tourism, technology and geopolitics, China’s influence can be felt across Southeast Asia. For ASEAN, China…
Myanmar has never been the easiest member of ASEAN. When Myanmar joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997, its membership was already controversial. The United States and several other countries opposed the move because of the military government’s…