Latest news with #SRajaratnamSchool
CNA
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Timor-Leste PM lauds Singapore as an exemplary nation amid fractured, uncertain world
Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has lauded Singapore as an exemplary nation amid a fractured and uncertain world. He praised the country's commitment to social cohesion and balancing relationships without compromising its principles. Mr Gusmao is on an official visit to Singapore and spoke at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies Distinguished Public Lecture. Aslam Shah reports.
Free Malaysia Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Busted: 5 myths about Asean
Asean was built to prevent conflict within the region, and to give Southeast Asia collective strength in a divided world. PETALING JAYA : Asean summits are usually accompanied by the familiar complaints that the bloc is slow, soft, or slipping into irrelevance – but regional analysts say these claims are often based on outdated assumptions or unfair comparisons. Ahead of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings to be held in Kuala Lumpur this week, here are five common myths about Asean and why they don't hold up. 1. Asean is irrelevant Fact: In today's world, no country can solve major problems alone – and that's exactly where Asean comes in. From food security and climate change to digital governance and geopolitical tension, the challenges Southeast Asians face don't stop at national borders. Asean provides the platform for countries to coordinate responses, amplify their voice, and ensure that regional interests aren't sidelined by global power struggles. As Joel Ng, senior fellow at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, puts it: 'The relevance of Asean is something that's always in the background. 'Maybe it doesn't seem really urgent, but in the middle of particular crises and in the big picture and long run, it's really important to everything. 'You need cooperation. You need empathy to understand each other's positions. You need a willingness to meet and talk, and so forth.' Asean's dialogue platforms and forums are also one of the few places where all of the major powers – the US, China, Russia, India, Japan, and the EU – show up. That's not irrelevance. That's strategic necessity in an interdependent world. 2. Asean is a 'talk-shop' that doesn't deliver Fact: Asean delivers in ways that aren't always headline-grabbing, but these outcomes still matter. Not every event ends with dramatic breakthroughs. But continuous dialogue and diplomacy still help in building trust over time, laying the groundwork for cooperation on issues like trade, energy, public health, and climate adaptation. Progress may be incremental, but it's durable. Outcomes like regional food reserves, digital trade standards, and education exchanges don't happen overnight. They happen because Asean keeps the conversation going, and the impact builds, step by step. Asean also works through quiet diplomacy and informal consultations. Speaking to FMT, Institute of Strategic and International Studies analyst Izzah Ibrahim said that Asean has its own way of doing things. 'There is an aversion to publicising matters, for fear of escalation or interference, and that is why many of these negotiations, compromises, and decisions have happened behind closed doors,' she said. 'Sometimes this lack of appreciation or understanding of this style of diplomacy is used to criticise the effectiveness of Asean as a whole.' 3. Asean is meant to solve major power conflicts Fact: Asean wasn't created to referee global superpowers – it was built to prevent conflict within the region, and to give Southeast Asia collective strength in a divided world. In 1965, Asean's founding goal was to build peace and trust among its members, and to forge unity so that Southeast Asia could speak with one voice. That unity gives the region more leverage to stay neutral and avoid having to choose sides between major powers, such as in the ongoing US-China conflict. According to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Kuik Cheng Chwee, Asean's main purpose is to mitigate intra-Asean problems, including shoring up regional peace and prosperity. 'While we have problems within Asean, they would be much bigger and more difficult to resolve without it,' he said. 'Nobody would say that Asean is sufficient,' he added, acknowledging the bloc's slower decision-making in resolving urgent matters. 'But it is indispensable.' Even bigger organisations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization haven't been able to resolve superpower conflicts. Blaming Asean for this tall order might not hold up. 4. Asean's influence is limited to Southeast Asia Fact: Asean has dozens of external partnerships, including with the US, EU, China, the Gulf states, and Latin America. This cooperation spans the whole gamut – from defence and security, and trade and financial ties, to people-to-people exchanges and connectivity. This July, countries including Brazil, Pakistan, and Switzerland will be meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the 58th AMM and Related Meetings – proof that Asean's footprint extends far beyond the region. 5. Asean is the next EU Fact: Asean and the EU are both regional integration projects, but they go about integrating their member economies, laws and other national jurisdictions differently. Denis Hew, senior fellow at Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said that Asean is trying to build a single market and production base. 'It's not the EU style of market, but what you're trying to do is to get different Asean countries to work together and build on their comparative advantages to create an industrial platform that can be an alternative to big markets such as China. 'Asean is a potential big market for consumers, but it's also a potential big platform for investments. The big focus now is to address the challenges and implement what we have already written down [in the Asean Economic Community documents].' Woo Wing Thye, a visiting professor at Universiti Malaya agreed that Asean should not be mimicking the EU. 'We need to focus on what's achievable within the region,' he said. 'If Asean does not act collectively, it will not be taken seriously by the major powers.'
CNA
24-06-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Cohesive societies: President Tharman calls for effective education and stronger social interaction
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam is calling for effective education and stronger social interaction to build cohesive and resilient multicultural societies. This is in the face of an increasingly divided and polarised world. He says diversity within a society remains an asset if people have shared hopes, a shared purpose and endeavour. Dr Leong Chan Hoong, Senior Fellow and Head of the Social Cohesion Research Programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, discusses the role of social media and the Internet in spreading misinformation. He talks about how algorithms, AI and deepfakes could make it worse and what countries are doing about it.
CNA
02-06-2025
- General
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Main takeaways from 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue
CNA938 Rewind The annual Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) wrapped up on Sunday (June 1) which saw the participation of 47 countries, including 40 minister-level delegates. Andrea Heng and Susan Ng look at the main takeaways from this 22nd edition of SLD with Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman, Research Fellow, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Exclusive: China's most advanced bombers seen on disputed South China Sea island
HONG KONG, May 28 (Reuters) - Satellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month - a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing's latest signalling of its growing military capabilities to rivals. The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody Island in the Paracels since 2020, and the movement of the now upgraded aircraft comes amid tensions with the Philippines, operations near Taiwan and ahead of the region's biggest defence forum this weekend. "China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing - against the Philippines and against the U.S. and other things that are going on," said Collin Koh, a defence scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to open the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore with a speech on Friday while U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will outline the Trump administration's approach to the region on Saturday. A British aircraft carrier is expected in the South China Sea on a rare deployment next month, diplomats say. Satellites captured two H-6 planes flying over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal, also in the South China Sea, just ahead of Hegseth's visit to the Philippines in late March, when he reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to its treaty ally. Regional diplomats and analysts say deployments of the jet-powered H-6 are closely scrutinised, given the way its Cold War-era airframe has been modernised to carry anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles, while some of the planes are capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. A potential threat to U.S. bases in the region, H-6 bombers were deployed in wargames around Taiwan in October, and in July flew close to the U.S. mainland for the first time. Neither China's defence ministry nor the Philippines' maritime and national security council immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. China's occupation of the Paracels is disputed by Vietnam, whose foreign ministry also did not immediately respond for comment. Echoing the development of the U.S. B-52, the basic H-6 dates back to 1950s Soviet designs but it remains China's most advanced long-range bomber having been re-fitted with improved engines and modern flight systems along with its state-of-the-art weaponry. Images provided to Reuters by Maxar Technologies show two H-6 bombers on a runway on Woody Island on May 19. Another Maxar image on the same date show two Y-20 transport aircraft and an KJ-500 early warning plane - an aircraft that is seen as vital to China being able to control and secure increasingly complex air and sea operations. Some analysts said the planes may have first arrived on May 17 and been present until May 23. Ben Lewis, founder of open source data platform PLATracker, said they thought it was unlikely that the H-6s would be deployed long-term on Woody Island or be permanently based there. "The ability to cycle forces through the bases, especially higher level assets like the H-6, provides the PLA with a force protection mechanism," he said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army. China's Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, maintains two regiments of the bombers, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. The bombers are generally kept at heavily fortified bases on the Chinese mainland, where they would have more protection in a conflict from U.S. attacks in conflict scenarios. The U.S. maintains jet fighter wings in Japan, including on its forward deployed aircraft carrier, and on Guam, which is also home to B-52s. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
