https://www.scmp.com/rss/164712/feed Ian Storey is a senior fellow and editor of contemporary Southeast Asia at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ian Storey Ian Storey If everything goes according to plan, Indonesia will be in possession of an aircraft carrier come Armed Forces Day on October 5. When that happens, it will become only the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to operate such a vessel. But this does not mean Indonesia’s maritime power will increase significantly. The issue here is prestige, not combat power. The warship in question is the Italian navy’s Giuseppe Garibaldi. The 14,000-tonne flat-top was commissioned in 1985 and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347362/indonesias-new-aircraft-carrier-more-vanity-project-war-machine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347362/indonesias-new-aircraft-carrier-more-vanity-project-war-machine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 02:00:17 +0000 Ian Storey Ian Storey Vietnam has ambitious plans to build a series of nuclear power plants to power its fast-developing economy, with several countries lined up to facilitate the transition. Still, the country’s nuclear power ambitions face immense challenges. At the recently concluded congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, General Secretary To Lam made a bold pledge to grow the economy by at least 10 per cent annually until 2030. To achieve that lofty goal, Vietnam will have to at least double its current... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3342714/vietnams-renewed-nuclear-power-push-faces-formidable-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3342714/vietnams-renewed-nuclear-power-push-faces-formidable-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 03:30:12 +0000 Should Southeast Asian countries be worried that North Korea has sent up to 10,000 troops to Russia? Clearly, they should, for in today’s globalised world, a change in the security dynamics of one region can have deleterious effects on other regions. The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia underscores this reality, as it has not only raised tensions on the Korean peninsula but also threatens to prolong the Russia-Ukraine war. Neither bodes well for Southeast Asia and Asean’s efforts to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3285818/why-southeast-asia-should-worry-about-north-korean-troops-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3285818/why-southeast-asia-should-worry-about-north-korean-troops-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Nov 2024 02:00:12 +0000 Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent visit to Russia, his first ever, might serve Malaysia’s interests. But as Russia continues to fight against Ukraine two years after its illegal invasion in 2022, the Malaysian leader has left himself open to criticism of double standards. At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Anwar attended the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). The summit of business leaders, held every year since 2015 in Vladivostok, is designed to promote the economic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3279378/why-did-malaysias-anwar-ibrahim-give-russia-free-pass-over-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3279378/why-did-malaysias-anwar-ibrahim-give-russia-free-pass-over-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Sep 2024 07:00:13 +0000 According to a recent spate of articles, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has recalibrated his country’s foreign policy, giving it a more pro-China and anti-Western slant. In particular, it has been suggested that Kuala Lumpur has moved closer to Beijing’s position on the South China Sea dispute in stating that the row should be resolved among claimant states without the involvement of external parties, and that this could cause problems for Asean unity when Malaysia takes over as chairman... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3276601/why-malaysia-has-stayed-quiet-firm-south-china-sea-let-sleeping-dogs-lie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3276601/why-malaysia-has-stayed-quiet-firm-south-china-sea-let-sleeping-dogs-lie?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 03:00:15 +0000 On November 22, military personnel from China and five Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – wrapped up a 10-day land and sea exercise in the port of Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong province. While the exercise was not a groundbreaking event, it did reinforce emerging trends in China’s regional defence diplomacy, specifically, hosting larger multilateral drills. Called Peace and Friendship-2023 (or Aman Youyi-2023 – meaning “peace” in Malay and “friendship”... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3243545/will-chinas-aman-youyi-military-drills-southeast-asian-nations-reduce-trust-deficit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3243545/will-chinas-aman-youyi-military-drills-southeast-asian-nations-reduce-trust-deficit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Dec 2023 02:00:15 +0000 Russia’s future in Southeast Asia is not yet written. But if present trends continue, the Kremlin will derive little comfort from the state of relations with the region. Russia’s economic footprint in Southeast Asia is already tiny, at 0.5 per cent of Asean’s total trade. It is likely to shrink even further due to the country’s poor economic prospects in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and worsening demographics. Russian arms sales to the region have dropped off a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3241047/memory-allies-how-russia-builds-support-southeast-asia-invoking-shared-historical-narratives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3241047/memory-allies-how-russia-builds-support-southeast-asia-invoking-shared-historical-narratives?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2023 09:00:15 +0000 Since the Myanmar armed forces ousted the country’s democratically elected government in February 2021, and Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, Naypyidaw and Moscow have drawn closer together in the face of international condemnation and Western economic sanctions. In the last month alone, high-level interactions between senior officials from the two countries have demonstrated a strong commitment to deepen collaboration in three priority areas: political succour, defence ties and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3192700/myanmars-arms-trade-defence-drills-and-energy-deals-russia-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3192700/myanmars-arms-trade-defence-drills-and-energy-deals-russia-show?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2022 01:00:11 +0000 The US presidential election on November 3 will be the most consequential in a generation, both for the United States and the rest of the world. The lack of policy-oriented debate in the campaign to date means that the future of US foreign policy and the country’s approach to the Asia-Pacific is unusually speculative regardless of which candidate wins. On October 1, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19, throwing another wild card into the heated... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3104846/will-trump-or-biden-be-better-asean-countries-amid-us-china-stand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3104846/will-trump-or-biden-be-better-asean-countries-amid-us-china-stand?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2020 02:00:24 +0000 Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, tensions in the South China Sea have surged. This is mainly the result of China’s continued assertiveness coupled with the sharp deterioration in US-China relations over a variety of issues including the South China Sea itself. Actions undertaken by Beijing to assert its jurisdictional claims, and demonstrate that the pandemic has not undermined its political resolve or the operational readiness of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), have been... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3100563/us-china-tensions-rise-what-outlook-south-china-sea-dispute-2020?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3100563/us-china-tensions-rise-what-outlook-south-china-sea-dispute-2020?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 21:00:10 +0000 Why did the Philippines launch a bold and unprecedented legal challenge against China’s jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea in 2013? According to a leading member of the Philippines’ legal team who spoke with the authors while the case was under way, above all Manila sought a definitive legal judgment on the rights of coastal states within their exclusive economic zones and the legality of China’s nine-dash line as well as its so-called historic rights within that line. When the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3093158/missed-chance-south-china-sea-has-come-back-haunt-asean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3093158/missed-chance-south-china-sea-has-come-back-haunt-asean?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 02:00:20 +0000 In Southeast Asia, Washington’s loss is often Beijing’s gain, and the Thai military might be seen as the latest example. Since the country’s 2014 coup, Thai-China military ties have gone from strength to strength. America’s negative response to the armed takeover saw the administration of former US president Barack Obama cut US$4.8 million in financing for Bangkok’s acquisition of US defence equipment, services and training. Washington also cancelled or downsized joint military exercises. Amid... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3012673/chinese-arms-cheaper-us-no-strings-attached-thailand-sold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3012673/chinese-arms-cheaper-us-no-strings-attached-thailand-sold?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:08 +0000 According to the defence analysis company IHS Jane's, China recently transferred five large helicopter gunships to the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the 20,000-strong ethnic militia in northern Myanmar. If the report is true - and both the Chinese embassy in Naypyidaw and the UWSA itself have denied it - it is another indication that China is accelerating efforts to protect its interests in Myanmar. Conflict between the Tatmadaw and the UWSA would damage Chinese commercial operations Since... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1239921/china-plays-double-game-protect-its-interests-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1239921/china-plays-double-game-protect-its-interests-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000