Southeast Asia

Talustusan, a community in the Philippines once known for its abundant water resources, found itself scrambling for water during the 2024 El Niño. While residents managed a temporary fix in 2025, local officials acknowledge it is not sustainable. With rising demand and the climate crisis, the community understands the need for a long-term solution. This photo essay highlights how Talustusan is innovating amidst the crisis but also emphasizes the need for support rooted in informed policies rather than patronage politics. 

The Mekong, one of the world’s most biodiverse rivers, breathes life into vast ecosystems. Flowing through six countries, it links cultures, livelihoods, and landscapes. But as dams multiply, pollution intensifies, and currents slow, its natural rhythms break down.

This article provides an overview of how Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine is being viewed and assessed in various regions and countries in Asia, and how the governments there are positioning themselves and reacting: in the Southeast Asian ASEAN countries, in Northeast Asia, and in India, China, and Myanmar.

This year, Indonesia holds the presidency of the G20. During the preparations for the upcoming summit in November 2022 in Bali, how does Indonesia navigate growing controversies amongst the G20 member states concerning the Russian aggression towards Ukraine?

The year 2022 brings in not just one or two but a handful of hot button issues to deal with for ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Between economic recovery from the pandemic through to internal civil war within Myanmar and external disputes and alliances, Cambodia assumes Chair of ASEAN with plenty to consider. ASEAN’s culture and intergovernmental model value cooperation but a different kind of multilateralism may be changing the stakes and strategies in negotiation across the ten member states.

A Photo Essay by Aildrene Tan

A Photo Essay by Amphon Chansirisri

In the Indonesian capital, people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic through a newfound hobby: riding bikes. One sees countless cycling-related photos and stories, which are widely circulated by social media-savvy Indonesians. The photos show people’s daily commutes and activities, such as family time by the beach or going to markets or shopping malls, while trying their best to practice and to follow safe physical distancing, wearing mask and washing hands.

Populism, nationalism, and an intensifying rivalry between the United States and China are testing the cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As its 10 member States battle the effects of Covid-19 amid political and territorial crises, the group has struggled to overcome internal differences and address profound external challenges.

Currently, there is no nuclear power station that operating commercial electricity in Southeast Asian countries. However, pro-nuclear comes up with many reasons aiming to materialize the nuclear power which ranging from growing of domestic power demand to boost economic activities, reducing the electricity cost – in the case of the Philippines, to producing no Green House Gases emission, in particularly CO2.

Green recovery. Social protection. Smart containment. Decarbonisation. Putting progress in climate action at par with measuring GDP. Creative capacity. These phrases have been running through conversations these days around changing Southeast Asia's template for development in the post-COVID era.