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ASEAN Roundtable 2016

 

The ASEAN Roundtable 2016 organised by the ASEAN Studies Centre was held on 30 August 2016 at the Institute. The theme of this year’s Roundtable is “The ASEAN Economic Community: Towards 2025”. The Roundtable drew more than 80 participants to discuss various aspects of the ASEAN Economic Community and regional economic integration.

 

“Previewing the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and Related Meetings”, a Commentary by Jason Salim and Tang Siew Mun

 

Commentary 2016/53, 5 September 2016

From 5-8 September, leaders from countries constituting 56.7% of the world’s GDP output will descend upon the Lao capital Vientiane as the nation plays host to the ASEAN Summit and its related meetings.

Besides the 10 leaders from the ASEAN member states, leaders from eight other countries – China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States – will not only meet together at the East Asia Summit, but individually, most of them will also attend their respective plus-one summits with ASEAN. ASEAN’s strategic weight will be amplified by the attendance of world leaders like US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

“The East Asia Summit in Contested Asia”, by Nick Bisley and Malcolm Cook

 

This article was first published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies, CSIS-PacNet, on 1 September 2016. The article can be read here.

The piece is based on a recent ISEAS Perspective on the East Asia Summit by the same authors here. 

Nick Bisley (n.bisley@latrobe.edu.au) is Executive Director of La Trobe Asia and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Australia. Malcolm Cook (malcolm_cook@iseas.edu.sg) is Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
 
 

Research article by Norshahril Saat featured in Asian Journal of Social Sciences: “Theologians “Moralising” Indonesia?”

 

The research article which was first published by Asian Journal of Social Sciences can be viewed here.

Abstract

After the fall of the New Order in 1998, the Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI) has been in the limelight for many of its controversial and conservative fatwa (legal opinions). Formed in 1975 by President Suharto, MUI was intended to serve as an institution to manage and discipline dissent, challenges and defiance by grassroots organisations. However, recent writings point to its changing character: Its fatwas are becoming more conservative; it is more assertive and powerful; and its fatwas, particularly the 2005 SIPILIS (anti-secularism, pluralism and liberalism), are deemed as contributing to violence towards minorities. This article reassess the scholarly conclusions and media reports made about the relationship between MUI, the Indonesian state and society. Examining MUI’s attempt to define public morality as a case study, particularly its role in the 2008 pornography bill and efforts to “moralise” entertainment, the article argues that MUI is internally fragmented and weak.

Dr Norshahril Saat is a Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

Siwage Dharma Negara quoted in The Straits Times: “Jakarta expects take-up for tax amnesty to surge next month”

 

The article which was first published by The Straits Times on August 31, 2016, can be viewed here.

Dr Siwage Dharma Negara is Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

“Vietnam, ASEAN and the ‘Consensus Dilemma’” a commentary by Le Hong Hiep

 

Commentary 2016/52, 31 August 2016

During the 38th Singapore Lecture, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang highlighted ASEAN’s importance in shaping regional responses to traditional as well as non-traditional security threats, claiming that it is critical to maintain a “multi-polar, multi-layered regional architecture in which ASEAN plays a central role”.

It is noteworthy that while praising ASEAN’s role in managing regional security issues, including the South China Sea disputes, Mr Quang also hinted at Vietnam’s frustration over ASEAN’s inability to effectively address the disputes due to the Association’s consensus principle.

 

“Myanmar’s long journey to peace starts in Panglong”, an Op-Ed by Ye Htut

 

The article was first published by the Straits Times on August 31, 2016

Mr Ye Htut is Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

 

Highlights from the 38th Singapore Lecture

 

The 38th Singapore Lecture, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, was titled “Strengthening Partnership for Regional Sustainable Development”. President Tran Dai Quang is the first Vietnamese leader to deliver a Singapore Lecture.

To read more, click here.

ASEAN Roundtable 2016 : The ASEAN Economic Community – Towards 2025 [Keynote Speaker: HE LE Luong Minh, Secretary-General, Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)]

 

The 38th Singapore Lecture

 

ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute organized the 38th Singapore Lecture, delivered by His Excellency President Tran Dai Quang of The Socialist Republic of Vietnam at Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore Hotel on Tuesday, 30 August 2016. The Lecture, chaired by DPM Teo Chee Hean, was titled “Strengthening Partnership for Regional Sustainable Development”.