The airline industry in Southeast Asia has boomed in recent years as a result of rapid economic growth and a rising middle-class. Low-cost carriers have captured a large part of the emerging air travel market by offering a variety of…
By James Wallar Provisions on competition policy have increasingly been embedded in regional trade agreements. So it was no surprise last September when negotiators for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – a free trade agreement currently negotiated between ASEAN…
By Vibhanshu Shekhar As the curtains were drawing to a close on the 2013 APEC summit meetings in Bali, Indonesia, both China’s president Xi Jinping and the host, Indonesia’s president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, were beaming with excitement. They had different…
By Prashanth Parameswaran In early October, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh made his first official bilateral visit to Indonesia. The trip, which saw the inking of six pacts between the largest and third largest democracies and fellow G-20 economies, marked…
By Ernie Bower & Noelan Arbis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced on October 22 that Brunei would implement a Sharia penal code system beginning April 2014. The new measures would broaden the judicial capacity of Sharia laws, which are currently limited…
South Korea and the countries of ASEAN are important strategic partners with shared political, economic, and cultural interests. Relations between South Korea and ASEAN have seen significant growth and expansion, since the relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership at…
By Phuong Nguyen When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Cambodia and Laos in November, he will become the first Japanese prime minister to tour all 10 ASEAN member countries in his first year in office. Japan has always been an…
By Blake Day Recent developments in Indonesia’s Papua province bring to the fore continued political instability in the troubled region. These include August protests surrounding use of the Morning Star flag—a symbol of Papuan independence, the September shooting of a…
Southeast Asia’s rapid economic growth has led to increasing demands for both conventional and alternative energy sources. The region is a net oil importer, representing over 5 percent of global oil demand—a trend expected to accelerate in the coming years.…
Who is he? Budi Bowoleksono served as secretary general of the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2013. He previously served as ambassador to Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Uganda, and represented Indonesia at the United Nations Environment Program…
