In March 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted a network of individuals for allegedly smuggling roughly USD2.5 billion worth of Super Micro servers containing Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips through a sophisticated multi-jurisdictional operation designed to circumvent US export controls and route hardware to restricted buyers. Singapore, alongside other regional hubs, has been identified in the broader investigation as part of the grey market infrastructure through which such diversions operate. This raises important questions about Singapore’s role in global technology supply chains.

Resilience has become a familiar term in recent years, especially after COVID-19, supply chain disruptions, rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change. But today, resilience is no longer just about recovery. It is about how countries and regions adapt and rethink how they operate in a more uncertain and fragmented world. For ASEAN, this challenge is particularly complex. Resilience looks different across emerging technologies, global value chains and health and other non-traditional security issues. And policy choices in one area can create vulnerabilities in another. In this episode's of Policy Unpacked, join our expert panel, LKYSPP's Dr. Denis Hew and Dr Miguel Gomez, Senior Research Fellows at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, SMU's Associate Professor Chang Pao Li and RSIS' Professor Mely Anthony, as they explore what resilience really means for ASEAN and what it will take for the region to remain competitive, resilient and secure.

If you’ve followed headlines about artificial intelligence, you’ve probably heard the neat, worrying story: the U.S. and China are racing for AI supremacy - America’s model is freewheeling private innovation, China’s is a tightly controlled state plan. It’s a compelling story, but incomplete. New research by Lin Zhu, Wilson Wong, Alfred M. Wu (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy), and Minqiang Zhu uncovers a surprising twist: while national governments head in opposite directions, local governments in both countries are converging on strikingly similar solutions. That convergence could open quieter, more practical channels for cooperation—right beneath the grand geopolitical drama.

In the dynamic landscape of technology, developing nations face a pivotal challenge: how to transform the extraordinary potential of Artificial intelligence (AI) into tangible national prosperity. The World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: AI Foundations proposes a robust framework for AI adoption built around four core pillars.