International Organisations

Can ASEAN find its own voice between great powers?

As great power rivalries intensify, Southeast Asia is moving beyond mere geopolitical balancing and pursuing “epistemic autonomy”. The region is rejecting imported Western narratives to build its own knowledge, trust local institutions, and dictate its own future on its own terms, say Chinese academics Li You and Zhai Kun.

Li You, Zhai Kun

21 May 2026

Why China must reject Trump’s ‘G2’ narrative

China’s embrace of multilateralism and rejection of a US-led “G2” order reflects Beijing’s belief that only broader global cooperation can counterbalance American pressure and reshape an increasingly fractured world order. Academic Gu Bin gives his take.

Gu Bin

20 May 2026

Xi meets Putin after Trump summit to balance China-US-Russia triangle

Four days after a historic meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing. Amid signs of easing China-US tensions, the Russian president’s visit serves as a powerful reminder that China-Russia relations remain strong. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lim Zhan Ting speaks with academics to find out more.

Lim Zhan Ting

20 May 2026

Xi raises stakes over Taiwan, warns US of ‘clash or even conflict’

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned visiting US President Donald Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could trigger a “clash or even conflict”, as Beijing raised the stakes in US-China ties. Analysts said the wording signals heightened urgency in Beijing’s Taiwan stance. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han reports.

Miao Zong-Han

14 May 2026

The West’s industrial policy double standard

For decades, industrial policy was discouraged in developing economies, even as China’s state-led model reshaped global supply chains. Now, with the US and Europe embracing massive interventions, the old orthodoxy looks less like principle than self-interest. Academic Guanie Lim examines how the discourse on industrial policy has shifted.

Guanie Lim

27 Apr 2026

Between distrust and engagement: Manila’s China paradox

Well into the second half of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s presidency, academic Aaron Rabena analyses that the perceived distancing of Philippines-China relations is not so clear-cut. In fact, at the state and sub-state levels, there seems to be engagement on some fronts and caution in others.

Aaron Jed Rabena

24 Apr 2026

How civilisational politics fuels today’s wars

Academic Ma Haiyun traces the history of civilisational conflict narratives in Western strategic thinking, built on Jewish intellectual foundations, long before the rise of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Such approaches have had a profound effect on influencing the US’s behaviour in the Middle East and spillover effects in the region.

Ma Haiyun

22 Apr 2026

State of Southeast Asia Survey 2026: A harder balance to keep in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has traditionally preferred not to take sides in the longstanding Sino-US rivalry. A fall in confidence in the US makes this a harder choice to make.

Joanne Lin

07 Apr 2026

Lawrence Wong: China at the heart of Asia’s stability and prosperity

China’s growing economic scale, technological innovation and active engagement in trade and regional initiatives make it a crucial force in shaping Asia’s stability, growth and prosperity over the next 25 years. This is the transcript of the speech delivered by Singapore’s Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at the 2026 Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference on 26 March 2026.

Lawrence Wong

26 Mar 2026

Strategic patience: How China navigates the Iran war

As Iran faces continued US-Israel bombardment, it is clear that President Donald Trump has no intention of easing the pressure. Amid the crisis, China is exercising strategic patience — diversifying energy ties and strengthening its Eurasian influence — turning regional turbulence into a potential long-term advantage while the US pursues rapid action. Researcher Eka Khorbaladze explains the likely impact and China’s role in the unfolding situation.

Eka Khorbaladze

04 Mar 2026

China as number three?

The latest OECD projections suggest that India will be the world’s largest economy in the next 40 years or so, with the US stabilising in second and China third. EAI non-resident senior fellow Bert Hofman offers an analysis of the reasons and factors behind this forecast.

Bert Hofman

04 Mar 2026

The Board of Peace: A pay-to-play world order?

Boardroom politics may replace global diplomacy with US President Trump’s new Board of Peace. In this architecture, peace is only a privilege for those who can pay for a seat at the chairman’s table. Commentator Imran Khalid shares his views.

Imran Khalid

11 Feb 2026