In recent years, Southeast Asian governments have viewed the “China plus one” strategy as their best chance to escape the middle-income trap. As global manufacturers looked to diversify away from China because of rising costs, trade tensions and supply-chain vulnerabilities, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia seemed perfectly placed to benefit. The promise was simple and compelling: new factories would arrive, more formal jobs would be created, wages would rise in tandem with higher productivity...
Southeast Asia’s governments have spent months trying to blunt the effects of war-driven energy shocks from the Middle East, but renewed fighting between the United States and Iran has exposed how limited those defences are, analysts have warned. The latest flare-up has revived fears of a second round of fuel disruption across the region, where many economies remain heavily dependent on imported oil and shipping routes linked to the Gulf. Southeast Asian leaders expressed “grave concern” over...
Japan is turning to five lesser-used straits in Southeast Asia as insurance against the next maritime shock, with plans to create detailed nautical charts for ships to navigate through these waters and bring vital goods to its economy. Tokyo would work with Indonesia and the Philippines to chart their respective straits, the foreign ministry told the Yomiuri newspaper, as it stepped up efforts to mitigate disruption to global trade arising from the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. The...
The Philippines is uniquely positioned to serve as a gateway for Greater Bay Area businesses into Southeast Asia, the country’s trade secretary said on Tuesday, as she outlined Manila’s push to promote a pro-investment environment. Speaking at the South China Morning Post’s GBA-Asean Summit 2026, Cristina Aldeguer-Roque urged investors to view the Philippines as a springboard into the region and to tap into the country’s young, digitally fluent workforce. “We are a maritime, demographic and...