The fickle environmentThis week, Indonesia stole the spotlight with Mount Agung’s phreatic eruption.

Talks about the “Quad” – a four-way security dialogue between the US, India, Japan and Australia – has resurged since it was first championed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. This time, it centred around the notion of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”What the term, “Indo-Pacific” popularised by US President Donald Trump during his visit to Asia entails is still not set in stone.

Every day a large number of people consume “fake news” around the region.

Japan has been increasing its involvement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in recent times. During the recently concluded ASEAN-Japan Summit in Manila, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN in areas including maritime security, trade and disaster relief.History of ASEAN-Japan tiesJapan is one of ASEAN’s most important partner and relations between the two have improved drastically since the end of the Second World War.

Much ado about the 31st ASEAN SummitThe highlight for this week was the conclusion of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings which began last week.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explained that the Fourth industrial revolution builds on the Third industrial revolution which was largely based on the use of electronics and information technology to automate production.Schwab writes that the Fourth industrial revolution “is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.”According to the World Economic Forum and Asian Devel

Floods are the most common natural disasters in both developed and developing nations, accounting for almost 40 percent of natural disasters. The Southeast Asian region is especially prone to floods.According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it is estimated that 9.6 million people are currently affected by the floods in Southeast Asia, with 5.3 million in Thailand alone.

On the 14th of November, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Manila to attend the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings. On the agenda for Modi was also the 15th ASEAN-India Summit which was hosted to celebrate the 25 years of dialogue, partnership and diplomatic relations between India and ASEAN member states as well as review the broad scale of ASEAN-India cooperation in all its aspects.

“Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, an American poet, physician and polymath. Such is the invention of smart cities.A smart city is an area of urban development that utilises various methods of electronic data collection to manage the city’s assets and natural resources.

I am delighted that my first meeting with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comes at a historic moment: the 50th anniversary of ASEAN’s founding. During those 50 years, not only my country, the Republic of Korea, but almost all of Asia has been utterly transformed. ASEAN’s role in harnessing and spreading economic dynamism has been essential to the region’s success.For Korea, ASEAN has undoubtedly been a special and valued friend.