Indonesia said on Wednesday (Jan 1) it rejected China's claims over a disputed part of the South China Sea as "having no legal basis", after two days earlier protesting to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters.

The death toll from flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has risen to 66, authorities say, with two people still missing after the megalopolis was hit by some of the most powerful monsoon rains seen in years.

The government is planning to work with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to promote the development of the aviation industry, according to informed sources.

The Asian economy in the new year will be marked by 5G networks in Southeast Asia lifting the earnings of top telecommunications suppliers, according to outlooks by regional market analysts.

On the surface, digital banking may not seem like much of a growth market for startup companies. Big traditional banks rolled out online services years ago. Today their mobile apps reside on untold millions of customers’ screens, probably including yours.

Australia and the U.S. are both providing infrastructure investments in ASEAN, sometimes in direct competition with each other.

Terrorism in Southeast Asia has long been a threat. Previously, the spectre of terrorism haunted the region via threats of physical violence, from bombings to kidnappings. However, in the current internet age, terrorism has found new ways to attack its targets. Cyberterrorism in the region has been a growing concern and experts have called out ASEAN’s slow response to it.

There is clear potential upside for Malaysia as a key destination for high value-added foreign direct investments (FDI) when looking beyond the ongoing US-China trade tensions. Citi’s head of corporate banking Asia Pacific Gerry Keefe and within ASEAN, the country is among the top in relocation opportunities for supply chain shifts besides Vietnam and Thailand, adding there is also an upward trend in accelerating investment flows to grow local presence.

The Philippines' auto industry appears to be coming into its own thanks to government support, with Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi Motors using a majority of locally supplied parts when assembling flagship models in the Southeast Asian nation.

Thailand looks poised to improve free trade agreements under the Asean framework next year, aiming to extend tariff cuts to cover more products, particularly sensitive items.

The Republic climbed five spots to become the 13th most expensive city in the world for expatriates. It also rose two places in Asian rankings to become the seventh most costly location in the continent.

As a major regional investor and security partner, Tokyo is stepping up

A series of initiatives organized by prominent members of Italy’s elite has developed new links with ASEAN states. The first and best example in this regard is the “Italy-ASEAN Association,” established in 2015 thanks to the initiative of prominent members of the Italian political, academic, diplomatic, and business communities.

ASEAN should have begun to crack and fall apart from the strain of the rising geopolitical rivalries in Asia between the United States and China, if what critics say about its fragility were true. But ASEAN steadily marched through another difficult and challenging year and quietly delivered many positive results that will improve the wellbeing of its 650 million people.

E’ vero che non è stato un grande anno per il libero scambio, ma i colloqui al vertice ASEAN di Bangkok potrebbero portare a un accordo per creare il più grande blocco commerciale del mondo. I leader di 16 paesi dell’area Asia-Pacifico si riuniranno per gli sciogliere gli ultimi nodi sul Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Negli ultimi 20 anni, a chi si fosse messo, su un molo nel golfo di Persico, a guardare se le petroliere viravano ad est o a ovest, sarebbe stato chiaro che già nel 2000 eravamo all’alba del secolo asiatico.

La Marina filippina si appresta a prendere in consegna parte del cantiere della Hanjin Heavy Industries a Subic Bay per sostenere la ripresa del porto, colpito dalla bancarotta del colosso navale coreano, e assicurarsi che sia tenuto fuori dalle mire della Cina.

Il Primo Ministro indiano Narendra Modi e il Presidente indonesiano Joko Widodo, in un incontro a margine del G20 di Osaka di giugno hanno annunciato l’ambizioso obiettivo di raggiungere un volume di interscambio commerciale di 50 miliardi di dollari entro il 2025.

Le Filippine rappresentano un caso molto particolare nell’area ASEAN. Pur essendo inserite nel contesto del Sud-est asiatico, le Filippine non fanno parte dell’Indocina e neanche dell’Insulindia, quella “virgola rovesciata” che unisce l’Indocina all’Australia. L’arcipelago delle Filippine sembra più un elemento del contrafforte che, partendo dalla Kamčatka e passando per le isole del Giappone e per Taiwan, separa, lungo il Pacifico, l’Oriente dall’Occidente.

As ASEAN has played in South East Asia a role similar to the one played by the European Union in our continent, Western commentators tend to analyze the first using categories applied when commenting on the second. However, this approach should be avoided, as it is misleading and does not allow for understanding the goals and peculiarities of the ASEAN.