Showing 1 - 10 of 14
It's never been more important to strengthen ties
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 09/03/2026
» Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) face a defining moment. Intensifying great-power competition, climate crises and economic fragmentation are reshaping the Indo-Pacific, raising urgent questions about how the two sides can build a truly resilient partnership.
Keeping Asia's growth engine on track
News, Thomas Noto Suoneto & Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 28/02/2026
» Asia stands at a decisive crossroads. The region remains the world's most powerful growth engine, with many Asean economies expanding above 5% and Asia-wide growth projected to exceed 4% in 2026 -- well above the global average of roughly 3.1%. Strong domestic demand, rising middle classes, and rapid technological adoption continue to propel the region forward, cementing its role as the central driver of global economic growth.
Climate disasters demand swift action
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 10/12/2025
» Southeast Asia is in crisis. Less than a week after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded in Brazil, the region is grappling with devastating floods and landslides, underscoring the urgent climate challenges that countries have repeatedly raised on the global stage.
China, Malaysia eye food security
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 18/02/2025
» Can Malaysia and China help secure Asia's food future? A landmark agreement signed between the two nations late last year aims to do just that.
China takes aim at democracy
News, Adam Nelson and May Butoy, Published on 06/01/2025
» In April 2024, a spokesman for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte suggested that the Philippines and China had entered into an undisclosed "gentleman's agreement" between 2016 and 2022. China would not challenge the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, and the Philippines would send only basic supplies to its personnel and facilities on the Ayungin Shoal. But now, the Philippines is emerging as an essential player in resisting China's strategic ambitions in the region, with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr's administration asserting Philippine maritime claims through naval confrontations and new legislation.
We need a food sharing mechanism
News, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 26/08/2024
» During the Asean-Australia Post-Ministerial Conference in Vientiane last month, Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi once again highlighted the critical role partners like Australia must play in easing the region's food insecurity.
Building a much stronger food system in Laos
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 29/03/2024
» One of the smallest and most sparsely populated nations in Southeast Asia, the Lao Peoples' Democratic Republic, a mountainous, landlocked country wedged between Vietnam, Thailand and China, has long grappled with challenges associated with supplies of food. A recently released Food and Agriculture Organization/World Food Programme joint report warns that food insecurity continues to increase in Laos, last year affecting more than a million people out of the 7.2 million population.
Is Cambodia a new agricultural power?
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 17/02/2024
» Hun Manet, the new Cambodian prime minister and son of the previous prime minister and former military general Hun Sen, recently announced the implementation of a new strategic policy for local agricultural development.
Transboundary water governance
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 04/01/2024
» As recent discussions at COP28 showed, water is increasingly important on the global security and climate agenda. Yet cross-border river governance still remains one of this century's most pressing concerns and an often overlooked geopolitical issue.
For children in exile, school's a lifeline
Oped, May Soe, Published on 08/06/2023
» It's 9am, before classes start, and children's shouts and squeals of laughter fill the air around three cottages in a school compound, a hilly area not far from the centre of Mae Sot, a northwestern city on the border with Myanmar.