Sudeste Asiático

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, right, receives four-star general epaulets, from President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday. (Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo)

February was a pretty good month for Southeast Asian politicians wanting to evade accountability.

On Feb. 2, Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister, Najib Razak, learned that his 12-year prison sentence for corruption was being cut in half. Najib is now eligible for release in 2026 — in time for the next general election — after being convicted of one of the biggest financial thefts of the century involving billions of dollars missing from a state investment fund. Malaysians were understandably outraged, with one lawyer calling the decision a “slap in the face for justice”.

On Feb. 18, Thailand’s controversial deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released from a prison hospital where he was spending time on charges of corruption and abuse of power.…  Seguir leyendo »

El capital catalizador tiene la llave para la transición verde del sudeste asiático

La Conferencia de las Naciones sobre el Cambio Climático (COP28), realizada en 2023 en Dubái, concluyó con un acuerdo histórico para el abandono gradual de los combustibles fósiles y triplicar la capacidad de energías renovables del planeta. Si bien este es un paso en la dirección correcta, ¿cómo podemos asegurarnos de que las economías emergentes cuenten con los recursos necesarios para lograr una transición justa a las energías limpias?

En el Sudeste Asiático esta es una interrogante que ha ido adquiriendo urgencia. En 2021, en la COP26 de Glasgow, ocho de los diez países de la ASEAN -Brunéi, Camboya, Laos, Malasia, Myanmar, Singapur, Tailandia y Vietnam- revelaron sus planes actualizados de reducción de emisiones, fijándose ambiciosos objetivos de cero emisiones netas para 2030 y comprometiéndose a alcanzarlos para 2050, una década antes de lo planificado originalmente.…  Seguir leyendo »

Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, right, with vice-presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka in Jakarta Nov. 14. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo — known as Jokowi — is barred from running for a third term next year. So far, he is officially neutral on a successor but has signaled that he is leaning toward his defense minister and erstwhile rival, Prabowo Subianto.

The reason? Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is Prabowo’s vice-presidential running mate. And Gibran’s presence on the ticket heralds the emergence of a new political dynasty in the world’s fourth most populous country and third-largest democracy.

It also heralds a worrisome development for not only Indonesia but also the other developing democracies of Southeast Asia. As democracies around the globe face growing threats — including in the United States and Europe — the world hardly needs more democratic backsliding.…  Seguir leyendo »

The leaders of Vietnam, South Korea, and Cambodia at the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, November 2022. Cindy Liu / Reuters

The defining geopolitical contest of our time is between China and the United States. And as tensions rise over trade and Taiwan, among other things, concern is understandably mounting in many capitals about a future defined by great-power competition. But one region is already charting a peaceful and prosperous path through this bipolar era. Situated at the geographical center of the U.S.-Chinese struggle for influence, Southeast Asia has not only managed to maintain good relations with Beijing and Washington, walking a diplomatic tightrope to preserve the trust and confidence of both capitals; it has also enabled China and the United States to contribute significantly to its growth and development.…  Seguir leyendo »

Harvesting the wheat crop on the occasion of Baisakhi at a village on the outskirts of Gurugram, India. Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images.

Despite South Asia being one of the least connected regions in the world, its economies do share numerous similarities – and the fact that Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Nepal are each currently facing a mixture of economic and political crises reflects replication rather than contagion.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coming as it does two years into a global pandemic, has led to soaring prices of fuel and wheat – the latter to a level last seen in 2008 which was a factor in triggering the Arab Spring.

This time it is South Asia’s turn to be the first region to undergo political and economic turmoil because of rising commodity prices, on top of a combination of economic mismanagement and the impact of the pandemic.…  Seguir leyendo »

Crisis ambiental en el mar del Sur de China

Si se tiene en cuenta que los buques de guerra, tanto estadounidenses como chinos, incrementan sus peligrosos juegos de presión psicológica, y China transforma atolones y afloramientos en islas artificiales militarizadas, el mar del Sur de China presenta un sorprendente fotografía de lo que significa la competencia estratégica sino-estadounidense. Sin embargo, el pedido de amplia reivindicación territorial por parte de China con respecto a tener soberanía sobre territorios en alta mar no sólo desafía los derechos territoriales de otros y la libre navegación de las rutas marítimas internacionales, también amenaza una característica central del ecosistema del sudeste asiático y, por lo tanto, el futuro económico de la región.…  Seguir leyendo »

Filipino fishermen prepare to sail despite alleged harassment by China in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines won a landmark arbitral case against China over territorial claims in the South China Sea. Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images.

Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency has invited counterparts from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam to ‘share experiences and foster brotherhood’ as the six Southeast Asian countries most affected by China’s activities in the South China Sea. The gathering next month appears to have been triggered by reports of Chinese coastguard ships harassing Indonesian oil and gas exploration.

Indonesia has long acted as if it were not involved in the South China Sea disputes but is now forced to recognize that Chinese companies and state agencies covet the oil, gas, and fish resources available off its coast, and so finds itself in the same boat as its Southeast Asian neighbours.…  Seguir leyendo »

Myanmar ruler Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Friday. (AP)

On Jan. 7, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in Myanmar for a two-day visit, making him the first Southeast Asian leader to travel there since the February 2021 military coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Myanmar opposition, which is engaged in a bitter struggle with the military regime, harshly criticized the Cambodian leader for legitimizing the ruling junta.

Hun Sen wasn’t acting out of altruism. He clearly expected the leaders of Myanmar to return the favor by supporting his own authoritarian regime. Unfortunately, such behavior is becoming the norm around the region. The elaborate network of mutual dependence among Southeast Asian autocrats is accelerating the steady decline of democracy.…  Seguir leyendo »