By Ernest Z. Bower Early this morning, the founder and spiritual leader of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, passed away with his family, citizens of Singapore, and people around the world literally and figuratively at his bedside, wishing him peace…
By Phuong Nguyen & Nigel Cory Lee Kuan Yew was no ordinary man. Dubbed the founding father of Singapore, his passing at the age of 91 is a seminal moment for the city state, which celebrates its 50th anniversary of…
By Nigel Cory Singapore’s just-released 2015 budget reflects the transformation underway in every aspect of the city state: society, politics, and the economy. In recent years, the effects of rising costs of living have turned social policies into a major…
By Zachary Abuza Media freedom across Southeast Asia continues to decline according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RWB) 2015 report. Despite the region’s economic vibrancy, Southeast Asian states languish in the lower half of the 180-country survey. Half the countries in…
What should we expect from the U.S. strategic rebalance to Asia in 2015? What are the prospects for economic reform in China and Japan? How should we interpret leadership changes in India and Indonesia? Are new strategic alignments emerging in…
By John Schaus As heads of state seek good-news deliverables at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit, and Group of 20 leaders’ meetings, a longer-term issue is shaping the drivers of peace and conflict in maritime Southeast Asia. Growing…
By Kriti Sapra Not only is the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a jihadist group which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, making waves in the Middle East, increasingly it is worrying…
Over the final two weeks in January the CSIS Asia team hosted more than 1,200 visitors for five public events covering issues directly connected to the Asia-Pacific including tensions in the East China Sea, the U.S.-Australia alliance, the ROK-U.S. alliance,…
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…