Is To Lam's Vietnam turning into Xi Jinping's China? After Vietnam's lawmakers unanimously elected Communist Party chief To Lam as the country's president, analysts are asking whether Vietnam aims to copy China's political model.

I shared some thoughts @deutschewelle.dw.com on 🇻🇳 politics under To Lam: "Vietnam is far from a progressive democracy, but it lacks some of the totalitarian repression that China relies on more regularly for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping's political survival." www.dw.com/en/is-to-lam...

The FBI Director Is MIA Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

Like so many others in an administration defined by malevolence, incompetence, and corruption, Kash Patel has always been in over his head: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Iran Resisted a Powerful Attacker. Taiwan Can Too.

"Iran’s ability to frustrate a superior military underscores that determined defenders, armed with the right mix of asymmetric capabilities and resilient command structures, can deny even the most powerful adversaries a quick or decisive victory." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/w...

Jakarta risks flying blind Indonesia’s “independent and active” doctrine is being tested by signs of drift.

Insightful piece by Rahman Yaacob, who writes @lowyinstitute.bsky.social, "strategic autonomy must be underpinned by a coherent framework that guides decision-making and communicates intent." #Indonesia www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

Why Myanmar’s new government is just ‘a junta in civilian clothing’ As the general who led the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s government sheds his uniform to take over as president, analysts tell Shweta Sharma what it means for a country ravaged by a civil war and an...

I shared some thoughts with @the-independent.com on the #Myanmar military’s faux transition to civilian rule & what we can expect from Min Aung Hlaing’s successor Ye Win Oo: www.independent.co.uk/asia/southea...

Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News The Philippines government has ordered Facebook’s parent company to curb the spread of false, “panic-inducing” content on its platforms.

www.wsj.com/business/phi...

Exactly the kind of mental framework policymakers in Washington should be considering WRT SE Asia: www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/southea...

Why Iran Believes It Has the Upper Hand Podcast Episode · The Ezra Klein Show · April 3 · 1h 2m

I highly recommend this episode of the Ezra Klein Show ft. @suzannemaloney.bsky.social on the latest state of play in #Iran @ezraklein.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

This is why we can't have nice things.

Behind the coup: what prompted the Tatmadaw's grab for power? - New Mandala Despite the seeming incredulity of the military and USDP’s claims of fraud, there is reason to take the Tatmadaw’s insistence on the legitimacy of its constitutional claims seriously.

I wrote about how MAH's personal greed & political ambitions led to the coup in 2021 @newmandala.bsky.social here. I think the piece holds up well: www.newmandala.org/behind-the-c...

Myanmar Junta Chief Ascends to President, Five Years After Coup

No surprise former Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has become #Myanmar's president following recent sham elections. Such a tragedy that his path to the presidency came at such a massive toll for the 🇲🇲 people: 90,000+ dead, 6,000+ civilians killed, 1/2 population in poverty. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/w...

Who Is Winning Southeast Asia’s Chip Race? Six of the 11 nations of Southeast Asia are making a concerted effort to carve out a role for themselves in the semiconductor industry. Which ones are actually succeeding?

A really useful overview of Southeast Asia's position in global #semiconductor manufacturing & how particular countries are faring in the chips race @thediplomat.com: thediplomat.com/2026/03/who-...

Read the Edited Highlights of Marcos’s Interview With Bloomberg Following are the edited highlights of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s interview on Tuesday at the presidential palace in Manila with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin.

Marcos on the question of a "reset" with China: “I think it’s certainly going to happen, it’s happening now.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China Is Squeezing Southeast Asia As imbalances grow, a backlash is brewing.

Very good essay by Jessica Liao & Zenel Garcia in @foreignaffairs.com: "Ultimately, Southeast Asia’s fate rests on its own institutions. Without stronger governance, a firmer rule of law, and more effective regulation, the region will suffer." www.foreignaffairs.com/china/china-...

Have we learned nothing from the past half century of failed ground invasions overseas? 🤯

National Unity Government of Myanmar Announcement by the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) Date: March 30, 2026 In order to advance our ongoing revolution and achieve victory at the earliest...

Another consultative council, another long acronym. There have been many throughout #Myanmar's history. Call me cynical but it is increasingly difficult to see a viable path to resistance victory over the military. They need technical, financial & logistical support: www.facebook.com/NUGmyanmar/p...

100% — my example was a bit flawed.

Obama’s dictum, “don’t do stupid shit,” much ridiculed at the time, looks pretty wise in retrospect. Obama got a lot of flack for the surge in Afghanistan & for failing to enforce his “red line” in Syria, but his instinct to avoid protracted military conflicts in the Middle East was sound.

Trump approval slips to 33 percent in new survey President Trump’s approval rating dipped to a new low, and even fewer people surveyed in a new poll said they support his administration’s war efforts against Iran. In a University of Massach…

“On the issue of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, only 29 percent of respondents in the Amherst poll said they supported Trump’s handling of strikes against Iran. Sixty-three percent disapproved of his job on this issue.” thehill.com/homenews/adm...

What to Know About the Rush for Rare Earth Metals in War-Torn Myanmar

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/w...

Very interesting 👉 "Instead, the increased uncertainty that accompanies such fraying is mitigated by greater emphasis on agency, which regional states, including Singapore, are increasingly emphasising.

The more dispensable the United States becomes, the more Southeast Asia must rely on itself."

IP26049 | Zebra Changing Its Stripes? The United States in Southeast Asia KEY TAKEAWAYS • Power, especially US power, has always been present in the rules-based order. • Despite that, and even with Washington’s approach to Southeast Asia being one of ambivalence, Southeast ...

"Though there is still a regional belief that the United States is a benign and stabilising power in Southeast Asia, ...even in Singapore, this belief is slowly but surely starting to fray." #Singapore rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publica...

Iran foreign minister thanks Southeast Asian Muslims for solidarity amid Middle East conflict | New Straits Times KUALA LUMPUR: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has extended Aidilfitri greetings to Muslims in Southeast Asia.

This is how the US loses SE Asia, gradually at first, then all of a sudden. By repeatedly launching unilateral destabilizing attacks and relying on economic coercion (i.e., tariffs), we are rapidly burning through goodwill and regional influence: www.nst.com.my/news/nation/...

Anecdotally, at the 2026 International Studies Association conference I’m told that participation is 40% lower than expected this year. I’m hearing from colleagues around the world who simply don’t want to come to the United States right now.

Let’s wait and see. History might remember this moment differently than present circumstances suggest.

Exactly the point I was trying to make.

U.S. Encourages Flow of Iranian Oil While It Battles Iran

Lifting sanctions on Iranian oil signals Trump’s lack of resolve prosecuting this war of choice. Why give up the one economic lever that has been most successful in weakening Tehran? Doing so cedes leverage & makes clear U.S. doesn’t have the stomach to sustain a war: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/u...

China calls for end to Gulf conflict, offers to ease Southeast Asia energy crunch China called for an end to conflict in the Gulf and said the safety ‌of waterways should not be disturbed on Thursday, adding that it was ready to work with Southeast Asia to address energy shortages ...

Beijing’s message will resonate in a region that has rapidly grown disillusioned with an increasingly unilateral and erratic United States: www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Confusion Reigns After Malaysian Minister Declares US Trade Agreement ‘Null and Void’ If confirmed, Malaysia would become the first country to withdraw from a “reciprocal” trade deal with the Trump administration.

“If confirmed, Malaysia would become the first country to withdraw from a “reciprocal” trade deal with the Trump administration.” thediplomat.com/2026/03/conf...

Philippines in Talks With China and Russia on Fertilizer Supply The Philippines is in discussions with major fertilizer producers including China and Russia to safeguard supply on fears exporters won’t deliver on contracts as the Middle East war keeps prices high.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...