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Politics

The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, adopted its summit declaration, which noted the creation of a BRICS "partner country" status, Reuters reported on Oct. 23.

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

Europe

Economics

The European Commission revealed on Oct. 2 that it would propose a delay of 12 months for its deforestation regulation -- due to come into force on Dec. 30 -- which requires companies importing goods like beef, soy and palm oil to map supply chains down to the raw material level to reduce deforestation, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 3.

EU, Malaysia, Indonesia: Deforestation Law Delay Offers Reprieve to Palm Oil

Energy

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that Malaysia will continue its oil and gas activities off Sarawak's coast, despite a recently leaked demand from China to stop, The Straits Times reported on Sept. 5.

China, Malaysia: Anwar Says Malaysia Will Keep Drilling in South China Sea

China demanded Malaysia cease maritime and exploration activities off the state of Sarawak on Borneo in the disputed South China Sea in a diplomatic protest note issued on Aug. 29, MalaysiaNow reported on Sept. 3.

China, Malaysia: Beijing Demands Malaysia Cease Oil and Gas Exploration off Sarawak

Australia

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Japan

Laos

Philippines

Singapore

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Ministers from the 11-country Asia Zero Emissions Community, or AZEC, agreed to establish an Asian supply chain for sustainable fuel at a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 21.

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

India and Malaysia upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership after discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during Ibrahim's visit to India, The Hindu reported on Aug. 20. 

India, Malaysia: Governments Announce Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit India on Aug. 19-20, during which he will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and address the Indian Council of World Affairs, focusing on the role of the Global South, The Times of India reported on Aug. 14.

India: Malaysian Prime Minister Will Visit India on Aug. 19-20

Myanmar

Military & Security

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began their annual meeting on July 25 in Vientiane, Laos, Nikkei Asia has reported.

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Assessments

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

United States

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

The main dome of the Malaysian prime minister's office in Putrajaya is seen on June 4, 2024. 

A bigger parliamentary majority will enhance the government's staying power, freeing it to more avidly pursue its plans to attract foreign investment, among other policy initiatives.

Political Stability Will Help Malaysia Hit Its Economic and Foreign Policy Goals

New Zealand

Germany

Switzerland

Ukraine

President Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in as member of parliament during the first sitting of the new South African parliament on June 14 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ramaphosa will be inaugurated to a second term in a ceremony scheduled to take place June 19 in Pretoria.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Ukraine's Peace Summit, South Africa's Inauguration

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

U.S.-China Relations

Malaysia's experienced workforce and neutral status in the U.S.-China rivalry will continue to draw interest to its chip sector, but the country will struggle to move up the value chain.

Malaysia's Place in the Race for Semiconductor Business

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the gala dinner for the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2023. 

Over the next year, Tokyo will provide ASEAN countries with military equipment and more infrastructure investment, which will raise threat perceptions and further deteriorate Japan's ties with China.

The Implications of Japan's Growing Interest in Southeast Asia

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) delivers an opening address at the start of a bilateral meeting with Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (L) at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 16, 2023.

Laos' vulnerabilities will weaken its ASEAN chairmanship, although the bloc's economic interconnectivity will likely continue to grow.

Laos' Limitations Portend a Lukewarm Year for ASEAN

Malaysian Muslim activists and Palestinian nationals gather to express solidarity with the people of Palestine as they march toward the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 13, 2023. 

Prime Minister Anwar's ardent backing of the Palestinian militant group will help pacify his government's pro-Islam factions, but it may come at the cost of reduced foreign investment and U.S. sanctions.

The Drivers and Risks of Malaysia's Vocal Support of Hamas 

Snapshots

Rare earth elements. Malaysia's recently announced plan to ban exports of rare earth elements is the latest example of the deepening regional trend of resource nationalism.

Malaysia's move will negatively impact its international partners in the sector, but give Malaysia a strategic advantage in the marketplace.

With a Rare Earth Ban, Malaysia Is Poised to Join the Regional Resource Nationalism Trend

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

A woman casts a vote at a polling station during Malaysia's general election on Nov. 19, 2022. 

A poor performance by members of the fragile unity government would portend yet more political instability that could negatively impact the Southeast Asian country's economy.

The Significance of Malaysia's State Elections

Malaysia straddles Southeast Asia's key geopolitical divide, between the mainland and the archipelago. Peninsular Malaysia occupies the southernmost tip of Southeast Asia's Malay Peninsula. East Malaysia, however, is on the island of Borneo, over 600 kilometers away across the South China Sea.       Peninsular Malaysia is defined by north-south mountain ranges flanked by coastal lowlands. The nation's core is its west coast from Penang to Johor Bahru, including the capital, Kuala Lumpur. This coastline fronts major east-west trade routes through the Malacca Strait, whose shores are divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Malaysia's primary geographic challenge is to secure this coastline in order to extract revenue from east-west trade. Today, Malaysia's substantial manufacturing center is concentrated in this core region. Johor Bahru also benefits from proximity to Singapore, which left Malaysia in 1965.        Malaysia's ethnic minority Indian and Chinese communities are also concentrated in the core, comprising 30 percent of the population. These groups wield outsized economic power and form the basis of the political opposition. Their population growth is slower than the ethnic Malay majority, creating an increasingly volatile political environment.      East Malaysia makes up 60 percent of the country’s landmass but has only 20 percent of the population. This sparse population is tipped toward the ethnic Malays and is growing in electoral significance. East Malaysia is playing a growing role in energy production — key to sustaining the country’s decades of steady economic growth.     Borneo also fronts the South China Sea, where Malaysia's maritime claims overlap with the claims of the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and China. As Borneo's offshore fields become more important to Malaysia, the nation's South China Sea claims could bring it into conflict.  

SITUATION REPORTS

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

EU, Malaysia, Indonesia: Deforestation Law Delay Offers Reprieve to Palm Oil

China, Malaysia: Anwar Says Malaysia Will Keep Drilling in South China Sea

China, Malaysia: Beijing Demands Malaysia Cease Oil and Gas Exploration off Sarawak

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

India, Malaysia: Governments Announce Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

India: Malaysian Prime Minister Will Visit India on Aug. 19-20

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

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