Terrorism in Southeast Asia has long been a threat. Previously, the spectre of terrorism haunted the region via threats of physical violence, from bombings to kidnappings. However, in the current internet age, terrorism has found new ways to attack its targets. Cyberterrorism in the region has been a growing concern and experts have called out ASEAN’s slow response to it.

Thailand looks poised to improve free trade agreements under the Asean framework next year, aiming to extend tariff cuts to cover more products, particularly sensitive items.

The Republic climbed five spots to become the 13th most expensive city in the world for expatriates. It also rose two places in Asian rankings to become the seventh most costly location in the continent.

As a major regional investor and security partner, Tokyo is stepping up

A series of initiatives organized by prominent members of Italy’s elite has developed new links with ASEAN states. The first and best example in this regard is the “Italy-ASEAN Association,” established in 2015 thanks to the initiative of prominent members of the Italian political, academic, diplomatic, and business communities.

ASEAN should have begun to crack and fall apart from the strain of the rising geopolitical rivalries in Asia between the United States and China, if what critics say about its fragility were true. But ASEAN steadily marched through another difficult and challenging year and quietly delivered many positive results that will improve the wellbeing of its 650 million people.

E’ vero che non è stato un grande anno per il libero scambio, ma i colloqui al vertice ASEAN di Bangkok potrebbero portare a un accordo per creare il più grande blocco commerciale del mondo. I leader di 16 paesi dell’area Asia-Pacifico si riuniranno per gli sciogliere gli ultimi nodi sul Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Negli ultimi 20 anni, a chi si fosse messo, su un molo nel golfo di Persico, a guardare se le petroliere viravano ad est o a ovest, sarebbe stato chiaro che già nel 2000 eravamo all’alba del secolo asiatico.

Il Primo Ministro indiano Narendra Modi e il Presidente indonesiano Joko Widodo, in un incontro a margine del G20 di Osaka di giugno hanno annunciato l’ambizioso obiettivo di raggiungere un volume di interscambio commerciale di 50 miliardi di dollari entro il 2025.

As ASEAN has played in South East Asia a role similar to the one played by the European Union in our continent, Western commentators tend to analyze the first using categories applied when commenting on the second. However, this approach should be avoided, as it is misleading and does not allow for understanding the goals and peculiarities of the ASEAN.

The European Union imposed five-year tariffs on biodiesel from Indonesia to counter alleged subsidies to producers in the country, a move that could prompt the Indonesian government to retaliate.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is flying to New Delhi next week to meet up with Indian PM Modi, with the aim to convince India to take up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). After seven years, the negotiations were completed last November in Bangkok.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will set up a fighter training detachment in the US territory of Guam under an agreement inked by Singapore and the US, in a sign of deepening defence ties between the two countries.

As the global trade regime threatens to unravel under the Trump administration’s assault on the WTO dispute settlement disciplines and its tearing up the rules in its trade war with China, ASEAN would seem the most unlikely bloc to spring effectively to its defence.

ASEAN countries are betting that the space industry will provide a new engine of growth, as the global economy sputters and government finances become overstretched. Asian Nikkei provides a focus on Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Indonesia is looking to establish a sovereign wealth fund modelled on Temasek Holdings (Singapore’s state investment vehicle) or Khazanah (the Malaysian equivalent), to support local start-ups and to boost economic growth. Earlier statements from the government on the likely size of any sovereign wealth fund have estimated it at up to $10bn.

ASEAN continues its impressive growth: according to the latest ASEAN Intregration Report, ASEAN is now the world's fifth largest economy (iif considered as a single entity). Notwithstanding growing uncertainties in the global economy, ASEAN’s overall economic performance remains robust. Thus, the rise of the bloc signals the success of of the regional integration process in South-East Asia.

The EU sent on Nov. 22 a letter to the WTO challenging Indonesia's export restrictions for raw materials used in the production of stainless steel, which comes into effect in January next year. The EU is also challenging subsidies that encourage use of local content by Indonesian producers and give preference to domestic over imported goods, which goes against WTO rules.

Hyundai Motor signed a $1.55bn deal with the Indonesian government to build a factory east of Jakarta. The investment will be made over 10 years and eventually produce 250,000 vehicles annually. The move follows a broad slowdown in the important Chinese market: the company was hit by a Chinese boycott of Korean products two years ago after Beijing lashed out at Seoul for deploying a new US missile defence system in South Korea