Southeast Asia Insights

The world has a baby problem. In almost every country in the world, fewer children are being born. This trend may not seem important but it is. Falling birth rates threaten to change economies, societies, and the global balance of power.   People still want families but many just cannot afford them. But this baby bust is not just about family life. It is about who works, who pays taxes, and who leads the world. From Southeast Asia to the U...

The United States is expanding its missile footprint in northern Philippines, deploying systems capable of striking targets more than 1,600 kilometers away. From bases in Luzon and Batanes, these new platforms place parts of eastern China, including Shanghai, within range.   The move marks a sharp escalation in the US-Philippine security partnership and reflects a broader shift in regional military strategy as tensions intensify in the Sou...

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked the 50th anniversary of its foundational peace pact, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), on February 24, 2026. The treaty was first signed in 1976 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote peace, respect for sovereignty, non-interference, and peaceful settlement of disputes.   For five decades, the TAC helped keep large-scal...

Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, is facing one of its darkest periods in decades. Long plagued by poverty, weak infrastructure, and ethnic tensions, the region has slipped deeper into crisis since Myanmar’s military coup in 2021.   Fighting between the military junta and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group rooted in Rakhine, has intensified. Although the Arakan Army now controls much of the state, its advances have slowed, prolo...

China has agreed to prioritize backchannel talks with the Philippines as confrontations in the West Philippine Sea continue to strain relations. The commitment came after a meeting between Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan and Philippine Senator Erwin Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.   Both sides signaled a preference for quieter diplomacy over public exchanges. The purpose of this is to reduce media escalation, reopen ...