Against a backdrop of trade tensions, supply chain disruptions, and rapid digital change, experts examined how APEC China 2026 is shaping Asia Pacific’s policy agenda.

What's more controversial than coal, harder to build than a dam, and suddenly, back on Southeast Asia's policy agenda? Nuclear. For years, it was too politically sensitive. Too scary and too expensive. But now, demand from industry, data centres and urbanisation is making it necessary for governments to look again. Renewables can definitely help, but they have limits. So nuclear, especially Small Modular Reactors, is being reconsidered. In Singapore, the issue is also moving from hypothetical debate to formal assessment. From 2027, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts will assess Singapore's nuclear infrastructure readiness. Though the government has emphasised that this is not a decision to adopt nuclear, but part of a rigorous three-phase assessment. So nuclear isn't just an engineering question. It's about trust, safety, public fear, and what happens when risk crosses borders.

Dr Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy, author of "Much More Than a Market," and Dean of IE University’s School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs, made the case for a more integrated Europe at a dialogue hosted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

As geopolitical shocks expose the limits of Southeast Asia's liberal economic model, scholars argue the region needs not reinvention but recalibration.