Five days after the country’s general election on Nov. 19 resulted in a hung parliament, Malaysia’s king appointed veteran opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, as prime minister. Anwar and his reformist bloc must now navigate a fragmented parliament and unify an untested coalition that includes its long-time adversary, the UMNO party.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in Manila over the weekend with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose visit was meant to show Washington’s high-level support for its Southeast Asian ally. But if security issues were front and center during Harris’ visit, the question of human rights was also on the agenda.
As encouraging as the three-hour meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was, it is but one stopping point in what promises to be a long and difficult road ahead for bilateral relations between the U.S. and China, especially against the backdrop of competition that characterizes the relationship.
