Vietnam’s To Lam throws his drowning rival an anvil
Communist Party of Vietnam chief To Lam’s weaponization of the Ministry of Public Security to force the resignation of rivals, in the name of anti-corruption,...
Category : Opinion
HSBC’s refusal to appear at UK Parliament hearing on Hong Kong was a mistake
The closing weeks of 2024 brought troubling news from Hong Kong, from the jailing of 45 democracy activists to a guilty verdict for seven people...
Laos must appease China or embrace austerity to reduce staggering debt
The communist apparatchiks who run Laos must appease China if they are to stop their national debt crisis from worsening and avoid an outright default....
Is Southeast Asian irredentism something to worry about?
Why has Southeast Asia, hardly a pacifist region in previous centuries, been so peaceful since 1991? The end of the Cold War; regional cooperation in...
Cambodia, Laos sack foreign ministers in preparation for more combative geopolitics
On Nov. 19, Sok Chenda Sophea, who was only brought in as Cambodia’s foreign minister last year, was given the heave-ho and replaced by his...
What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?
It now appears to be a question of “when, not if” Chinese security personnel will arrive in Myanmar, with Beijing looking to secure its strategic...
HSBC restructuring a chance to rescue UK’s Hong Kongers from transnational repression
HSBC’s recently-announced plan to split into four businesses from Jan. 1 offers the British multinational bank a chance to correct a wrong against tens of...
Fresh Chinese support may not be enough to save Myanmar junta
Myanmar’s military dictator, Min Aung Hlaing, returned from a five-day trip to China, his first since the February 2021 coup, with promises of further Chinese...
Rubio as US top diplomat could be a win for Southeast Asian human rights
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state is likely to send a jolt of excitement to beleaguered democrats...
Is Southeast Asia ready for the abrupt changes Trump could usher in?
There’s an old Republican saying: “A government strong enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take away everything you have.” Donald...
