Latest Articles about Southeast Asia

In A Fortnight: The End of the Singapore Model

In many more ways than one, this year’s Two Sessions—an annual March meeting of China’s two highest legislative bodies—marked the end of an era. Among other developments, Xi Jinping signaled his unmatched control of the levers of power by remaking, seemingly at a stroke, China’s... MORE

Briefs

Indonesia: Influential Islamic State Cleric Goes on Trial Indonesia has put on trial an Islamist cleric alleged to have been behind the 2016 shooting and suicide bombing attack in Jakarta. Although the trial is welcome, another conviction against him is unlikely to weaken the Islamic... MORE

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Pakistan: Government Losing Out to the Islamists Pakistan freed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest on November 24, one of a number of recent incidents that have shown the government’s increasing weakness when it comes to tackling the country’s Islamists. Saeed, the alleged... MORE

Rohingya Crisis: Will China’s Mediation Succeed?

During his visits to Dhaka, Bangladesh and Naypyitaw, Myanmar on November 18 and 19, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a three-phase plan to resolve the Rohingya crisis. First, Wang called for a ceasefire in Myanmar’s devastated Rakhine state, which is at the center... MORE

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Egypt: Hasm Movement Takes a More Islamist Tone The Hasm Movement’s bomb attack on the Myanmar embassy in Cairo adds weight to claims that the group, which portrays itself as a nationalist movement intent on bringing down Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, may be developing... MORE

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Afghanistan: The Need for New Ideas With the commitment of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, Kabul is also eager for a shift in Washington’s attitude toward Pakistan. Meanwhile, plans for a new Afghan militia that can be deployed to troubled areas in support of... MORE

The Uighurs and China’s Regional Counter-Terrorism Efforts

Members of China’s Uighur population have played a small but important role in the spread of global jihad, and Beijing is playing an increasingly assertive role in pursuing them as China’s influence grows. China’s Uighur exodus began following the 2009 riots in Xinjiang that led... MORE

Briefs

Egypt: The Rafah Attack and Hamas Under Pressure Militants in northern Sinai killed at least 26 Egyptian solders in a suicide car-bomb attack on two military checkpoints near Rafah on July 7 (al-Jazeera, July 8). The attack, which was claimed by Islamic State (IS), was... MORE