Economic Realities Trump Political Jingoism

By Akhil Ramesh

With months to go before a national election contest, leaders are often tempted to whip up nationalistic sentiments in the electorate. Interestingly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign avoided this, at least in respect of foreign policy. In a surprising turn of events, he openly called for increased dialogue between India and China to settle their border disputes—a perennial challenge in the bilateral relationship.

Will ASEAN Seek Alignment or Independence When Pursuing Emergent Technologies?

By Miguel Alberto Gomez

In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that “whoever becomes the leader in this sphere [read artificial intelligence] will become the ruler of the world.” Fast forward seven years and claims surrounding the transformative potential of emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT) persist. This is unsurprising, especially when considering how these technologies have and continue to transform societies across the globe. Whereas innovations such as the combustion engine revolutionised transportation over a century ago, the advent of technologies such as cyberspace and artificial intelligence (AI) manifests more pervasively as these touch almost every aspect of modern life—from communication to healthcare.

ASEAN's Vision, Challenges and the Way Forward

By Denis Hew

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the first issue of the ASEAN Bulletin. This periodical, which will be published quarterly by the Centre on Asia and Globalisation (CAG), aims to increase public awareness about ASEAN. The bulletin will include commentaries, key developments and events as well as recent publications on ASEAN. By sharing up-to-date information, we hope that the ASEAN Bulletin will better inform regional policy-makers, businesses, civil societies, academics and other stakeholders on pertinent policy issues affecting the region. ASEAN is one of the world’s most successful regional organisations. Since its establishment on 8 August 1967, ASEAN has over the years transformed to become a vibrant and economically dynamic region. In 2022, the combined GDP of its ten-member states reached US$3.6 trillion making ASEAN the fifth largest economy in the world.