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Asean

Asean
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development of its member states and the protection of regional peace and stability.
China starts going global in Southeast Asia
China exports

China starts going global in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has become the biggest destination for Chinese companies going global, driven by geographical proximity, regional manufacturing skills and free-trade agreements.

China trade

Chinese island province wants more than beachgoers as it chases economic growth

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Look East? South Asia’s fate is far more intertwined with Middle East

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong firms face profit squeeze as US importers cut orders amid oil crisis

City’s business leaders also say government should bolster ties with Central Asia and Asean nations to diversify market risks.

Kwai Chung Container Terminal. Photo: Elson Li
The Philippines

Why Philippines struggles to tap its US$1 trillion mineral wealth

Without a proper road map to grow its mining sector, the country remains a ‘second-tier mineral economy’.

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Thailand

Video | Thai ‘Death Fest’ offers new look at the end of life

Three-day event brings together exhibits, discussions and workshops to encourage visitors to talk about the inevitable.

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US-Asean relations

Opinion | Tariffs grab headlines, but non-tariff barriers decide winners in Asean

Trump’s flashy tariffs get the attention, but non-tariff barriers are what truly kill competition and leave firms and consumers worse off.

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US President Donald Trump (left) and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hold up signed documents on a trade deal in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP
Trade

New US trade offensive threatens to test Asean ties

The trade probes may compel Southeast Asia to continue diversifying away from the US, with analysts predicting recent deals could unravel.

Natural disasters

Asean bets on new framework to remedy ‘uneven’ disaster response

The new ‘ASPECT’ initiative could help boost quicker collective regional responses during large-scale or evolving disasters, analysts say.

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China’s C919 passenger plane

China fine-tunes C909 jet operations in Laos – a blueprint for Southeast Asia?

Lessons from Laos could help Comac boost overseas sales of C909 and C919 – but analyst says buyers will be closely watching for safety.

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Comac delivered its first C909 plane to Laos on March 30, 2025. Photo: Handout
China-Asean relations

Can Asean break free from US-China supply chain grip?

The bloc will look for new markets and deepen regional cooperation to reduce trade uncertainty, economic ministers say.

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Regional ministers pose for a group photo during the Asean Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Manila on Friday. Photo: EPA
European Union

Opinion | Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

With global data at risk from hybrid threats, Southeast Asia and Europe need to look past declarations to secure our shared data arteries.

Scams and swindles

Southeast Asia’s scam compound survivors suffer in stigma and silence

Many survivors return home to inhabit a murky space between victim and offender, with few support services to help them reintegrate.

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Myanmar

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

A closer look at the vote raises doubts about whether the generals can hold the country hostage in the long term.

Supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party wave party flags in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, in October 2025. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Philippines urges Asean to be global investment safe haven amid Middle East war

This year’s Asean chair calls on the bloc to ensure investment ‘certainty’ at the opening of the foreign ministers meeting in Manila.

Filipinos test ride electric bikes they explore ways to save on transport costs following oil price spikes on Thursday. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Philippines’ bid for UN Security Council seat sidesteps maritime row

As a potential council member, the Philippines is expected to address broader global security issues and be a ‘responsible middle power’.

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Scams and swindles

Video | Cambodia police raid AI-driven scam centre targeting Europe

Cambodia arrested 65 suspects in a Phnom Penh raid on an alleged AI-powered scam centre that targeted European victims with live video calls.

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Iran

Southeast Asia faces spillover cyber risk from Iran war as ‘blast radius’ widens

Many Asean firms are tied into the global network in the Gulf, Europe and the US, facing the risk of cyberattacks linked to the war.

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A building in Juffair, Manama, Bahrain damaged by an Iranian drone attack seen on March 1. Photo: Reuters
Vietnam

Why Vietnam’s new AI law makes it proving ground for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s first law on AI could raise the bar from voluntary guidelines to binding legal frameworks across the region, analysts say.

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Social media

‘We will go to war’: why #SEAblings became a Southeast Asian rallying cry

The hashtag went viral following a row over a South Korean band’s concert in Kuala Lumpur in January and protests in Indonesia last year.

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China exports

Chinese companies expand globally

Chinese firms are investing in overseas factories and marketing to develop global brands. Domestic price wars are pushing more companies to go global – “chuhai” in Chinese – in search of new growth opportunities.

Chinese companies expand globally
China-Asean relations

Singapore and China have ‘common interests’ in safeguarding global order: envoy

In Beijing, Peter Tan Hai Chuan says two countries built ties based on sovereign equality and respect, not just cultural or ethnic links.

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Peter Tan Hai Chuan, Singapore’s ambassador to China, says: “An open, connected, and cooperative region serves our common interests.” Photo: Handout
China-Asean relations

Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

At a time when no one has bandwidth left, soft power is being won by being the partner that feels usable, steady and low-risk.

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Banking & finance

Hong Kong, Shanghai sign pact on digital trade finance, cross-border data link

‘This marks an important milestone in the collaboration on financial innovation between Shanghai and Hong Kong,’ HKMA’s Howard Lee says.

Myanmar

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Activists and armed groups fighting the junta have been labelled ‘terrorist’ outfits, and punished with life prison terms and possible death sentences.

Released prisoners look from a bus window outside Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE
China-Asean relations

Letters | Asean is not choosing sides, but strategically maximising space

Readers discuss how Southeast Asian governments have gained bargaining power, the benefits of cheap public transport, and a harbourfront project.

A boat cruises past a nickel processing plant at Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in Central Halmahera, North Maluku province, Indonesia in 2024. Photo: AP
Myanmar

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

Old concerns about stability and security linger as other big players vie for sway over Myanmar’s rare earth bounty and strategic location.

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Food and agriculture

Opinion | How China’s national food security push could reshape global markets

Amid increasing pressure from trade wars and climate change, Beijing is reframing agriculture as a matter of national security.

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