Richard Javad Heydarian
Professorial Chairholder in Geopolitics, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Mar 24, 2022
Russia has quietly become a major player in Southeast Asia by arming and supporting many of China’s rivals. But strategic alignments in the region may soon change following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leading to a growing dependence on China.
Mar 12, 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been met with sanctions from the West, along with key regional economies in Asia. And Putin’s actions will have major repercussions on Russia’s place in the world, including its previously promising pivot towards Asia.
Feb 26, 2022
India is stepping up to seek out stronger relationships with Southeast Asian countries, showing that China is not the only nation in the Pacific region that can provide boons and benefits to friendly partners.
Feb 12, 2022
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will assume leadership of ASEAN this year, and bring with him a positive attitude towards China and a recent history of disengagement with the West. Observers expect that the regional organization’s agenda will turn away from topics that will directly challenge China’s influence over Southeast Asia.
Dec 24, 2021
The Philippines is gearing up for a hotly contested presidential election, and the relationship with China across trade and security must be addressed by each candidate.
Nov 24, 2021
“The U.S. once held the Philippines as a colonial possession, but now finds itself having to win back the Southeast Asian nation’s good graces to counter a rising China.”
Oct 26, 2021
Both the EU and ASEAN have largely criticized the newly announced AUKUS deal, leaving many European nations and China’s neighboring states scrambling to respond to the addition of nuclear submarines to Australia’s arsenal.
Sep 19, 2021
Parallels between the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan and its previous defeat in Vietnam have been top of mind for many, nowhere more so than in Southeast Asia itself, where American intervention and the ensuing fallout is still being reckoned with today.
Sep 03, 2021
Russia’s influence once stretched from the edge of Western Europe to the battlefields of Vietnam. Surpassed economically by the West and China, Russian foreign policy sees opportunity in Southeast Asia to restore its global reach.
Aug 12, 2021
The U.S. has seemingly pulled out all the stops to advance its agenda in Southeast Asia, hoping to entice countries away from China. Yet, as members of China’s neighborhood, ASEAN members will find it hard to create distance between themselves and China, literally and figuratively.