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…
Who is she? Miriam Defensor Santiago is a three-term Philippine senator who, in March 2012, was elected as a judge representing Asian countries on the International Criminal Court (ICC). Santiago previously served as secretary of agrarian reform from 1989 to…
By Ernie Bower & Kathryn Tinker President Barack Obama canceled plans to visit Kuala Lumpur on October 11 after Congress failed to reach a budget deal and forced a partial shutdown of the U.S. government. The White House is still…
Who is she? Janet Lim-Napoles is the president, CEO, and founder of JLN Corporation, a diversified Philippine company with interests in real estate development, hotels, restaurants, information technology, and agriculture. Established in 2009, the company has grown significantly in the…
By Michael Vatikiotis This is an edited version of a speech delivered in public at the Thai Government-sponsored ‘Uniting for the Future Special lecture series‘ on September 2, 2013. The entire speech was broadcast nationally and published in the Bangkok…
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a major driver of economic growth in many countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN’s six largest economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – have become increasingly attractive…
Recently, Asia watchers have seen a surge of nominations for ambassadorial positions as President Barack Obama solidifies his second term foreign policy team and diplomatic leadership overseas. The CSIS Asia team has profiled each of the five incoming U.S. ambassadors…
Who is he? Philip S. Goldberg is a career diplomat who formerly served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, chief of mission in Kosovo, and deputy chief of mission in Chile. Goldberg served as assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau…
Transparency International on July 9 released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which measures citizen’s perceptions of corruption and experiences with bribery in 107 countries. Respondents from six ASEAN countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—participated in the survey. Many…
