Southeast Asia Archive

The U.S. and Singapore held their first strategic partners dialogue in Washington in January. In an email interview, See Seng Tan, the deputy director of the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, discussed the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Singapore. WPR: What motivated the recent push to step up bilateral ties? See Seng Tan: The most significant recent development in bilateral ties are the negotiations between the U.S. and Singapore to allow the U.S. Navy to base a number of littoral combat ships in Singapore. The move has been seen, especially by China, […]

Over the past several months, the rapid changes in Myanmar have underlined the remarkable political skill of the government that came to power after the country’s 2010 elections. With its initial steps toward embracing a domestic reform process, the Myanmarese leadership has obtained approval from the other nine Association of South East Asian Nations members to chair the regional bloc in 2014. The domestic opening has also allowed Myanmar to forge economic and political relationships with other Asian countries such as Japan, India and South Korea. Perhaps most importantly, the dramatic thaw in relations with the U.S. has encouraged greater […]

Australia’s Kevin Rudd says he is “shocked and disappointed” by the tone and content of the personal attacks that he has come under since resigning as the nation’s foreign secretary. World News Videos by NewsLook

Over the past decade, the western Indian Ocean unexpectedly emerged as a hotbed for maritime crime as pirates — safe-havened in Somalia — menaced seafarers as far east as the Maldives. Shipping companies have been hit hard, with one estimate placing the direct costs of Somali piracy at $5.5 billion in 2011. Despite a multinational naval flotilla deployed to counter the pirates, attacks continued to grow last year. The discussion of Somali piracy predominately characterizes it as an aberration — a situation made possible by a failed Somali state that abuts a major shipping route. Viewed through such a prism, […]

Six people have been named as suspects in an alleged Iranian bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, Thailand, last week. Though the suspects mistakenly set off the explosives while inside their house, the homemade, improvised bombs matched those used in twin attacks the day before in New Delhi, India, and Tbilisi, Georgia. The device in New Delhi, planted on a car door, left four people wounded; the device in Georgia was defused. Israel has accused Iran of being behind the attacks, which Tehran denies. But the method used in Thailand, India and Georgia looked a lot like that used […]

The United States’ relationship with Singapore has been and continues to be one of its most important and successful in the Asia-Pacific. Despite its small size, Singapore has transformed itself into a major player in Southeast Asia and the broader global economy, and has been a consistent supporter of a strong U.S. presence in Asia. Today, the city-state is America’s 13th-largest trading partner, hosts U.S. naval ships in its waters, serves as a model for Washington on issues such as education and offers valuable strategic advice to the United States on a variety of policy questions. These past few weeks […]