China’s latest use of grey zone fishing operations in the North Natuna Sea to challenge Indonesia’s sovereign right to fish and exploit the natural resources in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) appeared to be a victory at first glance. At one point, about 50 Chinese fishing vessels accompanied by two oversized white hulls fished unimpeded in Indonesia’s EEZ.

he sham trial of Kem Sokha, the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), is underway in Phnom Penh. How the international community responds will send a powerful signal to Hun Sen, the world’s longest-serving prime minister, about his ability to continue to trample on Cambodia’s democracy and its people’s human rights.

A Cambodian court convened on Wednesday to begin the trial of opposition party leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason in a case that has drawn condemnation from rights groups as a move by longtime leader Hun Sen to crush political rivals.

Former Singapore foreign affairs minister George Yeo believes Vietnam, as Asean chair, needs to bring calm to the South China Sea dispute. Asean countries should remain neutral amid the US-China trade war and seize opportunities from their decoupling.

The United Kingdom's minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler, opens the UK Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. She was accompanied by UK Ambassador to Indonesia Owen Jenkins and UK Ambassador to ASEAN Jon Lambe. The United Kingdom has expressed hope of attending future ASEAN meetings as the country doubles down on its ambition to be a dialogue partner with the Southeast Asian grouping after Brexit.

Southeast Asia is an arena for great power competition, in which Southeast Asians are not adequately respected or appreciated. U.S.-China competition has deepened this trend in recent years, as Southeast Asian countries are being asked to choose sides.

China's trade volume with ASEAN climbed 14.1 percent to 4.43 trillion yuan (about $642.7 billion) last year. The European Union remained China's biggest trading partner with an 8-percent year-on-year growth to 4.86 trillion yuan in bilateral trade, while the United States ranked third with a 10.7-percent fall over 2018 to 3.73 trillion yuan.

Three priority orientations in the economic pillar of ASEAN in 2020 were revealed during the first meeting of ASEAN Senior Economic Officials in 2020. In line with the year’s theme of 'Cohesive and Responsive', the three orientations call for bolstering intra-regional economic linkages and connectivity; promoting partnership for peace and sustainable development; and improving the adaptability and operational efficiency of the ASEAN apparatus.

Southeast Asia has been one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world over the past decade. A key driver of ASEAN’s strong growth over the past decade has been the rapid growth in bilateral trade with China. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner in the past 10 years, with bilateral trade reaching US$292 billion in the first half of 2019.

China has a lot to offer the ambitious Asean Smart City Network project and has pledged to share its experience and technology. However, the rise of anti-China sentiment in Asean over South China Sea tensions and unpopular Mekong dam projects may hinder cooperation.

Vietnam will enjoy the fastest economic growth in Southeast Asia in 2020, according to a new forecast from British multinational investment bank HSBC. Vietnam has been a beneficiary of the China-U.S. trade war, enjoying a boost in services and exports that should drive economic growth to 7% this year.

Chinese fintech companies, hoping to diversify from increasingly stiff competition at home, are aggressively seeking to expand in Southeast Asia, where the digital economy is expected to triple in size to $300 billion over the next five years.

The ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) had given Myanmar’s economy a positive outlook for the fiscal year of 2019 to 2020; expecting it to expand by 7.1 percent up from 6.8 percent in the previous fiscal year. However, economists have noted that the downside is the ongoing Rakhine crisis as well as the lawsuit filed against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Gambia, which could tarnish the country’s image as an investment destination. One of the five key growth sectors this could clearly impact is the tourism industry.

India's restrictions on imports of refined palm oil will lead to a loss of market share for Malaysia and spark a price war with rival supplier Indonesia, a Malaysian industry association said on Thursday (Jan 9 2020).

Indonesia signed 11 business deals with the United Arab Emirates worth a combined 314.9 trillion rupiah ($23 billion) covering investment in energy and other sectors.

hina will remain committed to investing in Indonesia despite the ongoing spat between the two countries over the former’s controversial naval maneuvers in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea.

Enterprise Singapore, a government agency under the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry, provides insights and advices to foreign SMEs.

For a good part of the post-Cold War period, ASEAN enjoyed relative success as the central multilateral organisation in its region. Its expansion through the late 1990s, as well as its inclusive approach towards non-ASEAN powers, helped it become the main convener of multilateral dialogue and cooperative platforms in the wider Asia Pacific.

South-east Asia, a diverse and dynamic region with a young and energetic population, is gearing up for its third economic transformation since the second world war. After racing to become self-sufficient, the area is now on the cusp of another change powered by technology.

The U.S. government on Thursday formally approved Singapore to become the next customer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, paving the way for a future sale.