Kim ready for talks if U.S. gives up denuclearization demand www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...

“Don’t judge other countries too quickly. Everyone has their own vulnerabilities, their own threat assessment, their own opportunities, and they are making those necessary adjustments. They cannot behave like us, and we should not expect them to behave like us.” sc.mp/06fg7?utm_so...

ASEAN Sec. Gen. Kao Kim Hourn: The principles of China's Global Governance Initiative (sovereign equality, respect for international law, multilateralism, people-centred development & concrete action) "align closely with ASEAN’s own long-standing commitments." 🤨 #ASEAN #SCO asean.org/wp-content/u...

OK, but no surprise. Trump's priority at the moment is a trade deal with China. Anything that might jeopardize that (or falls under the rubric of great power competition) is on hold until after a deal materializes: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

"A lack of clarity in Washington's approach risks sending mixed signals—raising expectations in Myanmar while deepening doubts among US allies about its long-term commitment." #Myanmar www.orfonline.org/expert-speak...

"In the long term, however, we need human feet on Martian soil. All the rovers and probes that we have sent to the dusty world — each a majestic feat of engineering — cannot compare to what explorers could achieve on the ground." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Arguably one of DC’s most influential think tanks, where partisanship remains refreshingly absent and the primates do the heavy lifting.

Largely due to rising Chinese demand, rosewood is now the world’s most trafficked illegal wildlife product by volume, and its seizure value surpasses that of ivory, rhino horns, and big-game cats combined.

The #Myanmar military junta-controlled Union Election Commission (UEC) has cancelled 4 political parties' registration, including the NDF, an offshoot of the main opposition NLD. Doing so is likely to backfire bc it was one way for junta to coopt some of resistance: www.uec.gov.mm/news_preview...

Lofty rhetoric from #Indonesia’s new finance minister: "I will create economic growth of 6% to 7% - that will (make protesters) disappear automatically," he said, adding, "they will be busy looking for work and eating well, rather than protesting." www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Lofty rhetoric from #Indonesia’s new finance minister: "I will create economic growth of 6% to 7% - that will (make protesters) disappear automatically," he said, adding, "they will be busy looking for work and eating well, rather than protesting." www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

“The US is locked out of the raw supplies of Myanmar’s mines that China now dominates, processing 90% of the world’s rare earth elements.” asiatimes.com/2025/09/trum...

Grateful to @nickzeller.bsky.social & @cartercenter.bsky.social for the opportunity to discuss US-China relations, SE Asia & Trump 2.0 at last week’s Emerging Voices for U.S.-China Cooperation workshop in San Francisco. I enjoyed exchanging views with colleagues and making new friends!

Remarkable: New report by @csis.org AMTI shows #Vietnam has completed expansion of all 21 rocks and low-tide elevations it occupies in the Spratly Islands, nearly 70 percent of the total area China has created! #southchinasea amti.csis.org/no-islet-lef...

"The recent protests can thus be understood as product of a clash between two worlds of Indonesian politics: the world of official representative politics and the subculture of youth protest that rejects it." NB @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on #Indonesia protests: www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...

Last sunrise run of the summer?

It was a pleasure to speak to Hollie McKay for this piece @thecipherbrief.bsky.social on #Myanmar alongside the always stellar Derek Mitchell: www.thecipherbrief.com/myanmars-civ...

It was a pleasure to speak to Hollie McKay for this piece @thecipherbrief.bsky.social on #Myanmar alongside the always stellar Derek Mitchell: www.thecipherbrief.com/myanmars-civ...

There goes the Trump-Xi summit: www.reuters.com/world/china/...

"IR as we knew it is a headless corpse walking around talking about great-power competition and critical minerals." @vanjackson.bsky.social with a shot across the bow: www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-end-of...

We should be celebrating the arrival of peak oil, not trying to deny it or slow it down: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/c...

How many years have we been at this and we're still talking about "establishing deterrence"? www.wsj.com/opinion/sout...

After meetings between #Myanmar junta foreign minister Than Swe, Chinese FM Wang Yi & Thai FM Maris, junta supporters have the upper hand over ASEAN & regime critics. Full speed ahead to the military's elections planned for December, with a green light from China: www.facebook.com/mofamyanmar/...

“With little recourse available to Southeast Asia’s poorest states, the tariffs risk not only devastating economies but also costing the U.S. strategic influence in the region.” www.cfr.org/blog/trumps-...

"This state behavior is warranted by the world’s now multipolar configuration, where foreign policies challenge bipolar or unipolar dominance."

Illuminating piece by Ryan Hass @iseas-singapore.bsky.social: "Under Trump, foreign counterparts are viewed foremost in relation to their trade balance with the US, and then secondarily in relation to how they can help or hinder America’s efforts to outcompete China." fulcrum.sg/where-does-s...

The Trump administration intends to dramatically scale back U.S. government criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, all with extensive records of abuse, leaked drafts of the State Department’s human rights reports indicate.

Many Southeast Asian states want to modernize their air force, but few can afford to upgrade their fleet to F-35s (the exception being Singapore), so the fact that Bangkok went with Swedish Gripens should not come as a shock to US defense manufacturers: www.scmp.com/news/asia/so...

Grateful to Maria Siow for the chance to share some thoughts @scmpnews.bsky.social on why #Cambodia may be nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize: www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Smart. Exactly the kind of statecraft the US should be practicing to retain influence & soft power in this critical part of the world: www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

"Japan and other US allies must strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries to address US retrenchment, positioning themselves as credible alternatives for countries seeking to avoid over-reliance on China" shorturl.at/C9Kz5 by Shin Kawashima.

"Indo-Pacific countries prefer flexible foreign policies that balance security, diplomacy, and regional agency. U.S. policymakers should therefore engage the region on its own terms, supporting plural arrangements rather than forcing exclusive blocs." warontherocks.com/2025/07/the-...

Min Aung Hlaing isn’t fooling anyone by changing the name of his junta. This is the same trick the #Myanmar military has used in the past (1988, 1997, 2010) to muster support for the regime’s carefully controlled elections. Do not expect a sudden change of heart: www.irrawaddy.com/news/politic...

Encouraging to see that Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Thailand has not deviated from @statedept.govmirrors.com’s position on #Myanmar’s elections despite recent easing of US sanctions & murmurs of changes in US policy on 🇲🇲 critical minerals: www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/a...

"The idea that the US could gain a meaningful foothold in #Myanmar’s rare earth sector is not just naïve; it is nonsensical. Worse, it risks playing directly into China’s hands," writes @davidbrenner.bsky.social asiatimes.com/2025/07/eye-...

If Malaysian ceasefire observers can get the fragile peace between #Cambodia + #Thailand to stick, it will be a significant feather in KL's cap as ASEAN Chair and a major win for ASEAN, which has attracted more than a few detractors over the years: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/w...

Coastal run in Weekapaug, RI

My latest on #Vietnam's tightrope walk and how Hanoi has managed to navigate U.S.-China rivalry. I challenge reductionist assumptions that SE Asia looks to China only for economic benefit & the U.S. for security. Grateful to the @cartercenter.bsky.social for the invitation to contribute!

The implications of a deal in which the US gets rare earths from #Myanmar directly from the KIA are worrying 🚨 The Trump administration would essentially be empowering the junta while further decentralizing governance in 🇲🇲 and potentially prolonging the civil war: www.reuters.com/world/china/...

US-China rivalry is not the right lens with which to view this conflict. Thailand & Cambodia have long-running disputes along their shared border, and the US & China have very little to do with it, if anything. www.npr.org/2025/07/28/n...

An excellent set of proposals from David Rothkopf.

Not sure how this came across Trump’s desk, but unorthodox as this is, this seems like relatively low hanging fruit for POTUS considering it’s in both sides’ interests to resolve the border dispute swiftly & peacefully: www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

This is a bad move. It throws away limited US leverage with the junta, sends a signal that we will ease pressure on the worst human rights violators in the world for simply writing a nice letter to our president, and—worse—it will prolong #Myanmar’s conflict: www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

The State Department has shuttered the team involved in South China Sea security, getting rid of top experts on the subject at a time when the administration says security in the region is a priority.

We live in an era of democratic backsliding. But the terminology of "backsliding" isn't up to the task of making sense of the deep crisis of liberal democracy around the world. I've just finished a working paper that lays out what I think is going on. tl;dr it's about the state and society 🧵