By Aung Din — It was March 30, a beautiful but extremely hot summer day in Myanmar. The sky above Naypyitaw, the secluded capital, was clear. The enormous parliament compound was filled with thousands of people and I was one…
In this episode we explore the challenge of feeding the hungry in South Asia. CSIS Global Food Security Project Director Kimberly Flowers and CSIS Wadhwani Chair Richard Rossow explain how issues of nutrition, markets, government programs, climate change, and technology…
By Phuong Nguyen — Myanmar experienced a number of firsts over the past week. The Union Parliament — which now counts former political prisoners, doctors, businesspeople, and poets among its ranks — on March 24 approved a new cabinet to…
By Conor Cronin & Norashiqin Toh — On May 9, voters in the Philippines will head to the polls to pick a new president. Outgoing president Benigno Aquino III leaves his successor with a nation hoping to balance economic ties…
By Jonathan London — For Vietnam, periods of Chinese expansionism have always posed existential threats. And yet the nature and scope of the present threat is novel in the experience of Vietnam. In this context, a certain lucidity has taken…
By James Wallar — ASEAN in November 2015 launched a new strategic plan: “ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together.” What was largely lost in the typical ASEAN low-key roll out was the significant new business challenges the grouping agreed to tackle.…
Who is he? Prak Sokhonn is currently Cambodia’s minister of posts and telecommunications, a position he has held since 2013. Prior to this position, he held a number of different posts in the government, including adviser to the prime minister,…
By Aaron Connelly — A confrontation between Indonesian and Chinese law enforcement vessels in the South China Sea over the weekend could mark a turning point in Indonesian foreign policy under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, forcing him to choose…
By Samuel Glickstein — In November 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of Democracy (NLD) achieved a massive victory in Myanmar’s general election. In addition to winning in traditional party strongholds, the NLD also dominated in most…
By Phuong Nguyen — In Southeast Asia, Japan can be said to enjoy unrivaled popularity. According to the 2015 Pew Global Attitudes survey, an average of about 80 percent of respondents surveyed across four Southeast Asian countries said they hold…
