Maria Siow
Senior Correspondent, Asia
Maria Siow is a long-time China-based correspondent and analyst with keen interest in East Asia. Maria has a masters degree in international relations.
Maria Siow is a long-time China-based correspondent and analyst with keen interest in East Asia. Maria has a masters degree in international relations.
Areas of Expertise:
Chinese foreign relations, Asian affairs, China’s public diplomacyLanguages Spoken:
English, Mandarin
As a nation with a small military, Brunei would rather work with Beijing in safe zones such as peacekeeping than butt heads, analysts say.
Jakarta wants a fifth term on the council, but faces accusations of hypocrisy and being a ‘fence-sitter’, analysts say.
Aukus inquiry testimony in Australia cast Indonesia as a foe in a hypothetical war, reviving old suspicions.
Frustrated by economic hardship, Okinawans have rallied behind a new governor, leaving long-standing anti-base resistance in disarray.
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New Delhi ‘papered over’ differences to keep the bloc focused on trade and tech priorities, analysts say.
India spent decades casting Pakistan as the region’s rule-breaker. A tribunal ruling handed Islamabad the chance to return the favour.
Under the Australia-UK-US security pact, Canberra will get eight nuclear-powered submarines at an estimated cost of up to US$266 billion.
Visiting Moscow and Paris in succession allows To Lam to rally support for Hanoi’s maritime stance without taking sides, analysts say.
Joining the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani security alliance offers Dhaka leverage, but could also threaten its non-aligned stance.
Hanoi voices strong objections after reports emerge about Chinese construction works in the Paracels archipelago.
New Delhi’s re-engagement with the China-led bloc serves as a reminder to the US that it has other options, analysts say.
The city state takes the helm on Asean’s 60th anniversary amid civil war, tariff threats and rising global tensions.
The LDP is mounting an all-out campaign to unseat the incumbent, wagering cash promises can quiet anti-base opposition.
With voters anxious over inflation, swapping cabinet faces offers a convenient distraction from economic pain.
Restarting Angkor Sentinel drills lets Phnom Penh signal strategic autonomy without abandoning Beijing, analysts say.
With its need for Russian gas limiting fresh sanctions, analysts say Tokyo has few economic weapons left to respond.
The result shows that local voters are not as concerned about geopolitical issues as claimed in earlier reports, analysts say.
Tokyo is seeking to mitigate risks linked to potential US munitions shortages and maintain credible deterrence, analysts say.
Analysts say BrahMos could boost Thailand’s deterrence at sea and give it more options as tensions with Cambodia persist.
China’s actions in the South China Sea will be discussed but unlikely to be explicitly condemned, observers say.
Calls for reviving Saarc are likely to fall on deaf ears as long as the two neighbours are at loggerheads, analysts say.
While a visit could boost Indonesia’s diplomatic clout, it also threatens to raise another outcry about Prabowo’s frequent flights.
The move aims to ensure Honiara partners with Western allies in sectors with security implications, analysts say.
Wellington’s four-month diplomatic blitz aims to lock down regional allies as Washington’s commitment wavers.
The case, which alleges abuses in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin state, is now under consideration by the courts in Dili.
Efforts to finalise the code between Asean and China this year are hampered to a large extent by differences between Manila and Beijing.
Removing statues of the country’s founding father appears aimed at stripping democratic legitimacy from his daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The ‘long overdue’ move is expected to boost the defence ministry’s capacity to work more closely with allies and ease operational strain.
A joint study for a 2,790MW hydropower project is more political stunt than power plan, critics say.
