Southeast Asia Insights

Fisheries across Southeast Asia are under growing pressure as millions of kilos of fish disappear each year. In the Philippines, annual fish losses have reached around 45 million kilos. Experts warn this is not just an environmental issue, but a serious threat to food security and livelihoods.   A study by Oceana shows that Philippine fisheries are in “freefall.” National fish production dropped from 2.6 million metric tons in ...

When the Strait of Hormuz shut in February, the Philippines felt the shock almost immediately. Speaking by teleconference at the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Plus Online Summit hosted by Japan, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the disruption had laid bare how vulnerable the country remains as an archipelagic economy heavily dependent on imported petroleum.   Diesel and liquefied petroleum gas prices have skyrocketed...

A pre-dawn raid in the Lanao del Sur region of the Philippines ended with 10 alleged Islamist militants dead. The region is still dealing with armed networks that are more fragmented than in years past, yet still lethal enough to kill soldiers and destabilize communities.   Attempt to Arrest Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Commander Ends in Deadly Clash Police and army troops entered a village near Marantao to arrest Amerol Mangoranca, a commander ...

Ten years after one of Southeast Asia’s worst environmental disasters, questions of accountability remain unresolved.   In April 2016, a toxic waste discharge from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a Taiwanese-owned plant in Vietnam, contaminated more than 250 kilometers of coastline. The spill devastated marine life and disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and coastal communities.   A decade later, the environmental damag...

The Philippine Navy is moving fast to upgrade its defense strategy by getting new autonomous drone ships and by participating major international military drills. These changes come at a time of rising tension between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea, indicating that the Philippines is trying to strengthen both its military reach and disaster response systems.   Autonomous Drone Ships Transform Maritime Defense The Navy has teame...