On the global context of the conflict. By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China In recent days, a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has flared up once again: the Preah Vihear Temple and its surrounding area. This temple is not only a historical and religious monument, but also a symbol of sovereignty, national pride, and a focal point ...
A call to a third way—a third path—a path of defining Asia not by proxy wars, but by agency, balance, and collaboration. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The United States dominated Southeast Asia by sheer power and imposed its will through military alliances, naval presence, and economics for decades. While Washington presents its presence as a stabilizing one for freedom of ...
Institutionalization of climate action is what’s needed. By Mehmet Enes Beşer As the planet hurtles towards ecological tipping points, the climate crisis has reached not just an environmental crisis, but a civilizational emergency. Record-breaking heatwaves, disappearing coastlines, crashing biodiversity, and the oceans devouring land with an increasingly accelerating ferocity. Somewhere, this is felt—and politically under-served—more than in Southeast Asia. The ...
For the greater part of the region, the strategic issue is whether America is trustworthy. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The return to the world scene by Donald Trump, albeit more ambitious and with greater political desperation this time, has revived debates over the American foreign policy future—particularly in Asia. His caustic diplomatic style, transactional diplomacy, and disdain for multilateral organizations ...
But It Must Change to Earn Their Confidence By Mehmet Enes Beşer ASEAN has been at the very center of Southeast Asia’s political, economic, and diplomatic order for over five decades. It has preserved peace in a region formerly shattered by strife, facilitated trade integration, and become a convenor of dialogue between great powers. But in recent years, its influence ...
The annual meetings are organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China The Shangri-La Dialogue 2025, Asia’s largest and most comprehensive security forum held annually in Singapore, has concluded. In addition to the US-China tension, new contradictions and fault lines between Europe and the US also drew attention at the Forum. The ...
It Can Pay For Its Own Future. By Mehmet Enes Beşer As the pecking order in the world’s capital economy, Europe has long been at the top of the list as one of the safest and most developed sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). For most of the developing world, European capital has been a capital with credibility, technology transfer, ...
A Strategic Balancing Act By Mehmet Enes Beşer As the world hurtles towards a green energy, electric mobility, and high-technology future, rare earth elements (REEs) have emerged as the unsung cornerstone of the global green economy. These metals—vital to wind turbines, EV motors, semiconductors, and military uses—have emerged as a valuable asset on which economic and geopolitical competition is increasingly ...
Both Nations’ Best Interest By Mehmet Enes Beşer As the world’s alliances are being recalibrated and old friends have proven themselves unreliable, one bilateral relationship is ready to be reborn and reenergized: China and Thailand. Historically linked by cultural affinity, economic interdependence, and regional interest, the two countries are now exceptionally well positioned to move their relationship in a more ...
The path forward is to reconcile various national interests in upholding ASEAN solidarity. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The resurgence of economic nationalism under the Donald Trump administration has reignited tensions in the trade relations between China and the US, casting a shadow on the stability of the global economy. Strategically located between these two economic behemoths, Southeast Asia is faced ...