China and India in the Global Quantum ‘Race’

By Manoj Harjani

For now, quantum technologies are less likely to become a key determinant shaping competition and the overall bilateral relationship between China and India. This is partly due to greater potential economic and strategic gain in other dual-use disruptive technologies such as AI and chips, as well as the perceived gap in quantum capabilities and technological advancement.

Can ASEAN Pave a Path to Peace in Myanmar Five Years After the Five-Point Consensus?

By Barbora Valockova

More than five years after the February 2021 coup, Myanmar has a new administration led by former military chief Min Aung Hlaing. The military-organised general election, held in three phases between December 2025 and January 2026, excluded major opposition parties, and voting did not take place in 67 of the country’s 330 townships, largely because of fighting. It delivered a landslide for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president on 10 April 2026. An April amnesty freed former president Win Myint, while successive amnesties reduced Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence. While Min Aung Hlaing presents the transition as progress towards democracy, International Crisis Group describes it as a consolidation of military rule under the 2008 constitution.

A Haven for Growth, But for Pollution Too? ASEAN and the Pollution Haven Debate

By Abigail E. Andrada

As production networks diversify away from China, ASEAN is increasingly emerging as the next major manufacturing hub, particularly for electronics and semiconductors, automotive and electric vehicles, machinery, textiles, and solar manufacturing. In 2023, roughly one-third of China’s 76 billion USD in outbound manufacturing FDI went to Southeast Asia. This shift brings significant economic benefits to ASEAN countries, as firms relocate their production to more cost-competitive destinations across the region. However, it may also create environmental risks if more pollution-intensive activities move into countries with weaker enforcement of environmental regulations.

Economic Coercion in the Indo-Pacific: The New Normal?

By Denis Hew

Economic coercion is hardly new. Major powers have long used trade, investment and finance to influence the behaviour of other states. What is striking today is the growing use of these instruments in great power rivalry, targeting not only strategic competitors but also economic partners. The balance between economic incentives and coercion appears to be shifting, with major powers increasingly relying on punitive measures rather than the promise of mutual economic gains. This trend is particularly evident in the Indo-Pacific, raising a critical question: Has economic coercion become the new normal in this region?