While the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to dominate headlines, occasionally news stories surface regarding growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region as well. Driven primarily by the US, these headlines also include the proxies Washington is using to stir up an Ukraine-style conflict in the region.

Malaysia only recognizes sanctions imposed by the United Nations and not by any individual country, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution says…

On the eve of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, New Eastern Outlook offers readers 10 facts about the country, describing it as an actor in modern international relations…

At the end of May, 2024, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to officially announce its desire to join the BRICS group. What is BRICS today, how is it expanding and what are the prospects for Southeast Asian states to join the group?

Last year, in the midst of the Asian New Year celebrations in Vietnam, news broke of the first disappointing results of a major anti-corruption campaign: for the first time in the history of the SRV, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc resigned early. Exactly one year later, a campaign led by the Communist Party of Vietnam forced the next president, Võ Văn Thưởng, to resign…

The annual US-Philippine military exercise Balikatan began on 22 April and will continue until 10 May. Originally planned as a relatively small and bilateral exercise, in recent years it has become the largest of those conducted by the United States in the Indo-Pacific region with the participation of one or more of its allies…

Against the backdrop of growing contemporary threats to international security around the world, the countries of Southeast Asia (SEA) are no exception and, just like everyone else, have to deal with terrorism, cyber-attacks, the spread of dangerous diseases, and natural disasters. Given the cross-border nature of most security issues, this is a technically extremely difficult task to achieve in a single country, much less in a region…

Since the onset of the 21^st Century, tensions around the world have been simmering. Great power rivalry has reached to a new apex since the culmination of the Cold War. The rivalry between China and the United States is considered one of the most significant and appalling issues of the era. Given the importance of maritime trade, the South China Sea and the Southeast Asian countries have emerged as the strategic focus of the rivalry between the two sides…

The state visit of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Vietnam took place on 29-30 January this year. This event in itself and the various circumstances surrounding it deserve at least a brief and very general commentary. Mainly because it is a remarkable act in the relations between two important countries of the South-East Asia sub-region, where the current stage of the “Big World Game” with the participation of the leading world powers, i.e. China and the USA, is developing with particular acuteness. The presence of new emerging significant players is becoming more and more…

Thailand’s government has put together a serious proposal to build a land bridge across the Thai Kra Isthmus connecting ports on either side, providing an alternative for maritime shipping transiting the Malacca Strait, saving several days of travel in the process. The project, if completed, would transform Asia’s economic and even security architecture. The land bridge, along with the still-under-construction Thai-Chinese high-speed railway, would solidify Thailand’s role as a regional logistics hub connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, and…

Thailand’s recently renewed commitment toward finishing the already under-construction Thai-Chinese high-speed railway may help move the Southeast Asian nation forward, out of the shadow of years of Western-induced political instability, and into the light of peace and prosperity as it and the rest of the region rise with China. The recent announcement has triggered condemnation from Western commentators who support Washington, London, and Brussel’s agenda of maintaining dominance over Asia and shaping Southeast Asia into a united front against a rising China…

With the rise of China, so too rises Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia has slowly transformed in terms of economics, infrastructure, tourism, industry, and politically over the last two decades as Chinese influence increases and inevitably displaces US influence over the region. At its height, US influence resulted in a major war spanning two decades, engulfing Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The US maintained military bases across the region, including in Thailand and the Philippines. However, when the US finally lost its war against Vietnam, it withdrew much of its military…