Stories of brave women in the region are plentiful. In Vietnam, women were instrumental in liberating the country from American occupation. When the Philippines was colonized by Spain, women like Gabriela Silang played a significant role in fighting colonialism. In Malaysia, women like Shamsiah Fakeh led the women’s wing of the Malay Nationalist Party in fighting for independence from the British.

Geopolitical developments in the Korean Peninsula have taken a turn for the better with North Korea agreeing to come to the meeting table with South Korea in April to deescalate prevailing nuclear tensions. The meeting will mark the third time the leaders of the two Koreas are meeting – the previous two in 2000 and 2007 – but will be the first to take place in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

With every tweet, Donald Trump seems to be eroding America’s leadership position within the rubrics of the liberal international order. His latest tirade that “trade wars are good, and easy to win” has more than sullied America’s position as the bastion of free trade in the world. To be fair, his poise towards economic protectionism was not unexpected.

The European Union (EU) and ASEAN celebrated 40 years of diplomatic relations in 2017, with trade characterising the strongest dimension of their relationship thus far. As ASEAN chair, Singapore this year hosted the sixth ASEAN-EU Business Summit, which coincided with the 24th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Retreat in Singapore from 1-3 March, 2018. At the ASEAN-EU Business Summit, opening remarks were delivered by Donald Kanak, Chairman of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, H.E.

On Thursday, the Philippines announced that it was in talks with a Chinese state firm for joint exploration of the South China Sea. The aim of this joint exploration is to look for and extract energy resources such as oil and gas in the area. The proposed deal was described by President Rodrigo Duterte as a ‘co-ownership’ of the disputed areas."Now their (Beijing's) offer is joint exploration, which is like co-ownership. It's like the two of us would be the owners.

“To dignify what happened as “polls” is to give them too much credit. The Soviet Union also held elections. No-one believes they were free and fair.”That was Associate Professor of Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Sophal Ear’s reaction towards Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s sweeping victory in last week’s Senate elections.Cambodia has dominated the headlines over the past few months for a variety of reasons.

The past few days have seen the Malaysian media frenzied by allegations that tycoon and business magnate, Robert Kuok has been funding various opposition parties in an attempt to overthrow the Malaysian government. These allegations were first published by exiled blogger and fugitive, Raja Petra Kamarudin on his website, Malaysia Today – allegations that Kuok had since refuted via a media statement.

Next month, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be welcoming the 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sydney for a special summit. The summit will focus mainly on business and security ties including the South China Sea dispute and the on-going Rohingya crisis. This summit will be the first of its kind to be hosted by Australia.

While the ICC’s preliminary examination against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity is unlikely to change his stance on the war against drugs, much debate also exists as to whether the case will eventually see the light of an actual investigation.“It will not stop the war on drugs.

The 2018 Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang drew to a close yesterday with athletes from South and North Korea emerging for the closing ceremony under their own national banners. A stark contrast from the opening ceremony which saw a unified Korean entrance into the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium – displaying the flag of a unified Korean peninsula. From the get-go, the games were more than just about snow and sports – they were also about diplomacy.