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China pledged to sign the 1997 Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty "without reservation," according to Malaysia's foreign minister, Reuters reported on July 10. 

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

United States

Association of Southeast Asian countries are reeling in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's July 7 announcement that six ASEAN countries -- including Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (25%), Thailand (36%), Cambodia (36%), Laos (40%) and Myanmar (40%) -- will face new reciprocal tariffs starting Aug. 1, with separate 40% tariffs targeting goods transshipped through ASEAN countries, Nikkei Asia reported July 8.

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies 

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong signed five agreements on legal cooperation, intellectual property, bond market access and digital, green and artificial intelligence collaboration during the latter's visit to Beijing, The Straits Times reported on June 24.

China, Singapore: New Agreements Reaffirm Ties Under Tariff Risks

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Energy

Malaysia hosted the inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council-China trilateral summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Channel News Asia reported on May 27.

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations finalized negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, expanding the deal to cover digital trade, green cooperation and enhanced supply chain integration, Reuters reported May 21.

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

Singapore held its general election on May 3, with the long-ruling People's Action Party, or PAP, securing a decisive victory by winning 87 of 97 parliamentary seats as well as 65.6% of the popular vote under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, AP reported the same day.

Singapore: Election Yields Larger Majority for Ruling People's Action Party

Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam dissolved parliament, and the Elections Department called a May 3 general election on April 15, Channel News Asia reported the same day.

Singapore: Parliament Dissolved, May 3 General Election Called

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia, as 2025 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will lead a coordinated bloc-wide response to stiff tariff hikes instituted by the United States on all its members, the South China Morning Post reported April 7. 

Asia-Pacific: ASEAN Chair Malaysia Attempts Coordinated Response to U.S. Tariffs

Assessments

The Geopolitics of Trade

Global Trade

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

France

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press briefing during his trip to Singapore on May 30, 2025. 

U.S.-China Relations

The deals reached with Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam expand France's role in Southeast Asia amid shifting global trade and defense dynamics, a welcome development for a region increasingly pinned between the U.S. and China.

Macron's Southeast Asia Tour Deepens French Footprint in the Region

Supporters of Singapore's ruling People's Action Party attend an election rally on May 1, 2025. 

Global Elections

While the ruling party is set to extend its 60-year rule, a weaker mandate could impede its ability to navigate economic headwinds and rising public demands for policy reform.

Previewing Singapore's Election

Timor-Leste

The flags of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are seen on display.

Malaysia's chairmanship will be pivotal in navigating security risks as well as those from U.S. trade restrictions, potential Chinese economic coercion, and supply chain realignments that threaten ASEAN's cohesion and strategic autonomy.

Previewing Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship

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

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

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

Columns

On Geopolitics

Australia

Fiji

Japan

New Zealand

North Korea

South Korea

United Kingdom

India

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

Snapshots

A photo of Singapore's Parliament building against a cityscape.

Singapore's Incoming Prime Minister Brings a Fresh Face to an Old Regime

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

Hong Kong SAR, China

People cycle along the promenade at Marina Bay in Singapore on Oct. 13, 2023. 

While it may briefly slow its economy, the city-state's robust response to the crisis will ultimately mitigate the impact on Singapore's reputation as an easy and safe place to do business.

Singapore Races To Keep Money Laundering From Muddying Its Image

<p>The city-state of Singapore sits at the southern tip of Southeast Asia&#39;s Malay Peninsula. Malaysia lies to its north and parts of Indonesia lie across a strait to its south. The island nation rests near the end of the Strait of Malacca, which links the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, and is one of the world&#39;s busiest shipping routes. The area emerged in the 13th century as a small trading outpost and gained prominence through its strategic location on the Maritime Silk Road. That location and success repeatedly put it at risk, from Siam and Javanese kingdoms in ancient times, and later from European powers, including the Portuguese and Dutch. It eventually fell into the hands of the British Empire and was later seized by the Japanese in World War II. Since its independence from Malaysia in 1965, it has focused on preserving its dominance of the regional shipping lane that runs near it and on avoiding the domination of outside powers. Though the country is dominated ethnically by Chinese, it has tried to create a distinct national identity. Maritime trade has led to an export-led industrialization that has far outpaced its neighbors, and its vulnerability has led it to develop a strong navy. Now it is striving to maintain a strategic balance among big powers, namely the United States and China, as relations in the region shift.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies

China, Singapore: New Agreements Reaffirm Ties Under Tariff Risks

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

Singapore: Election Yields Larger Majority for Ruling People's Action Party

Singapore: Parliament Dissolved, May 3 General Election Called

Asia-Pacific: ASEAN Chair Malaysia Attempts Coordinated Response to U.S. Tariffs

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