The relationship between India and China over the past two years has not been very smooth. The two countries have not seen eye-to-eye on several major issues. These issues range from China’s growing influence over the region through its infrastructure projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative, border disputes and more. When China launched its ambitious BRI project last year with various heads of state in attendance, India decided to boycott the event by not attending.

The Southeast Asian region is a hotbed for development. The digital economy of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) alone currently generate US$150 billion in revenue annually and could potentially add US$1 trillion to its collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the coming decade. Information technology (IT) is fast reshaping the way ASEAN citizens live, work and interact with one another.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Commonwealth are two global blocs that share many similarities. The peoples within both entities can relate to one another through shared values of tolerance, respect, and understanding. Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore are three ASEAN countries that are also part of the Commonwealth. It is interesting to note that the first biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in Singapore in 1971.

Back in March, 2017, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was described by the international media as being broad and comprehensive, involving policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people connections. Notwithstanding, many foreign analysts claimed that this initiative is Chinese president Xi Jinping’s attempt to gain political leverage over his neighbours, including the fast-growing Southeast Asia region.

Facebook Inc. doesn’t want to be drawn into a political dispute between the ruling and opposition parties of Cambodia.

Singapore can check one thing off its to-do-list for its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the year – the successful completion of the 32nd ASEAN Summit. This curtain raiser summit has set the stage for the island republic’s aspirations for ASEAN throughout the year.

On the 21st of April, a decision made by North Korea’s controversial leader, Kim Jong-un definitely caught the world off guard. It was a momentous occasion as Pyongyang made the decision of suspending their ballistic missile tests as well as to shut down the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. There are camps suggesting that the decision to denuclearise is a caving-in to international pressure, with increasing economic sanctions on Pyongyang a big concern for Jong-un.

On the 28th of April 2018, which was the 4th and final day of the 32nd ASEAN Summit, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held a press conference that highlighted several key points from the biannual gathering.

Singapore’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year is best encapsulated in two words – resilience and innovation.On Saturday, at the opening ceremony of the 32nd ASEAN Summit, Singaporean Prime Minister and ASEAN chair, Lee Hsien Loong articulated that bold vision.He stressed that amid changing geopolitical realities at an international and regional level, ASEAN would have to rapidly adapt or risk falling into irrelevance.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived in Singapore early this week for an official visit ahead of the 32nd ASEAN Summit. Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the official visit at the invitation of Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. The visit was to celebrate the 45-year relationship between both countries since establishing diplomatic ties in 1973. The visit also marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore in 2013.