Chinese tech firms are increasingly committing to market expansion across Southeast Asia. The development of the Digital Silk Road, especially in the ASEAN region, may provide clues about an emerging Chinese model of economic and political influence over information technology markets.

ASEAN hopes to speed up talks on CoC on South China Sea, but an agreement is unlikely within a year.

ASEAN has ably brought together former rivals and among the world’s most (ideologically and socio-economically) diverse nations under a single roof. Yet, with the rise of China and the demise of the old American-led order, the ASEAN is facing an existential moment, which may require strategic soul-searching and major institutional reforms.

Concern over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear and missile tests and combating terrorism and extremism constitute two of the key security issues discussed in the recently concluded 31st ASEAN and Related Summits held last November in Manila.