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Southeast Asia

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Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia form the bulk of Southeast Asia, a region that has experienced significant economic development in recent decades but also faces ethnonationalism and security concerns. RAND has investigated these issues as well as the region's relations with the United States, the former Soviet bloc countries, China, and Japan.

Commentary
With ASEAN Paralyzed, Southeast Asia Seeks New Security Ties
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations tirelessly proclaims its centrality to the region, but its inability to develop a coherent response to Chinese aggression or the crisis in Myanmar has effectively killed that claim. ASEAN members will inevitably continue to seek out alternative paths.
Sep 18, 2023
Report
How Would U.S. Allies View Changes in Washington's Relationship with Taiwan?
The debate in Washington over Taiwan often overlooks a crucial question: How would America's regional allies respond to possible changes in U.S. policy toward the island? Researchers explored the perspectives of Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Jul 20, 2023

Explore Southeast Asia

Commentary
Online Outsourcing: Prospects for Increasing Youth Employment and Reducing Poverty in Indonesia
In this Perspective, the authors review the potential benefits and drawbacks of online outsourcing, including microwork and freelancing, with special reference to its potential for youth employment and poverty reduction in Indonesia.
Feb 5, 2020
Commentary
Why Is China Pressing Indonesia Again Over Its Maritime Claims?
China sparked a major maritime confrontation with Indonesia near the South China Sea in December when dozens of Chinese fishing vessels, along with a coast guard escort, entered waters off the Natuna Islands. What drove Beijing to stake out its sovereignty claims against Indonesia at this particular time? And what can Indonesia and other regional neighbors expect of Chinese behavior going forward?
Jan 16, 2020
Commentary
How to Read Vietnam’s Latest Defense White Paper: A Message to Great Powers
Vietnam's latest defense white paper is full of warnings to China and opportunities for the United States. Washington needs to reassure Vietnam that the United States is committed to the relationship by deepening existing military exchanges, which will give Vietnam greater confidence to stand up to China when the time comes.
Dec 31, 2019
Commentary
What Taiwan and Vietnam Could Tell Us in 2020
While many issues warrant attention in 2020, two that should be near the top of Asia-watchers' lists are Taiwan and Vietnam. Both are on the front lines of Chinese coercion, and their ability to respond, either with or without American support, will set the tone in the Indo-Pacific well beyond 2020.
Dec 30, 2019
Blog
Most Popular RAND Blog Commentary of 2019
Terrorism. The humanitarian crisis at the border. How to engage friends and foes on the world stage. Here are the top 10 commentaries that readers engaged with most on The RAND Blog in 2019.
Dec 23, 2019
Blog
Medicare, Climate Change, 'Superbugs': RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on opening Medicare to Americans at age 50, how to assess climate change plans, antibiotic-resistant
Nov 22, 2019
Commentary
Vietnam Needs to 'Struggle' More in the South China Sea
With the standoff between China and Vietnam at the disputed Vanguard Bank ended, it makes sense to take stock of how Hanoi's security strategy fared in countering Chinese coercion. It may be time for Vietnam to consider a careful recalibration to allow for more “struggle” and less “cooperation.”
Nov 15, 2019
Commentary
Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia
Fires in Indonesia, if left unchecked, could cause an average of 36,000 premature deaths annually across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Researchers built a tool that models the effect of the fires on public health.
Oct 25, 2019
Journal Article
High-frequency Internet Survey of a Probability Sample of Older Singaporeans: The Singapore Life Panel®
We detail the methodology by which the Singapore Life Panel was constructed using a population-representative sampling frame from the Singapore Department of Statistics.
Sep 20, 2019
Journal Article
Financial Knowledge and Portfolio Complexity in Singapore
This paper reports the first analysis of older Singaporeans' financial literacy using a unique new dataset, the Singapore Life Panel (SLP®).
Sep 20, 2019
Commentary
Southeast Asia Loves ISIS, but Is the Feeling Mutual?
As the ISIS core in Iraq and Syria attempts to rebuild, Baghdadi and his lieutenants will have to make difficult decisions about where to allocate resources. Now that the caliphate is gone and ISIS must transform into an insurgency, the largely untested lands of Southeast Asia may yield rich rewards.
Sep 16, 2019
Commentary
We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze
Forest and land-use fires are ravaging Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Haze from these fires is life-threatening; inhaling smoke can cause heart and respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. We developed a new tool to provide decisionmakers with information to protect people who live downwind.
Sep 10, 2019
Report
The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation
Key U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific have been strengthening their defense ties with regional actors over the past two decades. To what extent is this a response to the perceived threat of a rising, assertive China? And how will these new commitments affect the United States?
Aug 29, 2019
Commentary
Why Vanguard Bank and Why Now? Explaining Chinese Behavior in the South China Sea
What can Vietnam do now to make Chinese assertiveness against it less likely going forward? Although deepening the U.S.-Vietnam defense partnership in the short-term may be contributing to trouble with China, closer cooperation in the long-run could serve to deter China. Enhancing cooperation with Vietnam's other defense partners—namely Australia, Japan, and India—could help to deter Beijing as well.
Aug 19, 2019
Commentary
Searching for Signs of Doi Moi in North Korea
President Trump's second summit with Kim Jong Un prompted voluminous commentary about whether Pyongyang might adopt the “Vietnam model” of economic reform and opening up, known as doi moi. Some version of doi moi is not impossible in North Korea, but it will likely be more difficult than it was in Vietnam and made all the more so by Kim's reluctance to risk losing absolute control.
Aug 12, 2019
Commentary
The Ramifications of China's Reported Naval Base in Cambodia
China and Cambodia have reportedly signed a secret agreement allowing the Chinese navy to use a military facility near Ream, along Cambodia's southern coast, though both countries deny the reports. The installation of a Chinese military facility in Cambodia, if realized, would further complicate an already sensitive and tense situation in the region.
Aug 7, 2019
Journal Article
Fires, Smoke Exposure, and Public Health: An Integrative Framework to Maximize Health Benefits from Peatland Restoration
In this study, we present a novel approach that integrates information on the drivers of fire emissions in Indonesia, the transport of smoke to downwind regional population centers, and the resulting population exposure to air pollution.
Aug 6, 2019
Commentary
A U.S. Option Playbook for Contingency Planning to Reclaim Scarborough Shoal
In this paper, the author proposes a graduated menu of response options for the United States to consider in the event that China undertakes irreversible actions to alter the status quo of Scarborough Shoal.
Jun 27, 2019
Report
"The Project May Serve the Nation — But What About Us, Who Live Here?": Villagers' Views of the Dawei Special Economic Zone, an Internationally Funded Infrastructure Project in Myanmar
To gain a better understanding of how foreign infrastructure investment in Myanmar may affect local communities, RAND researchers conducted a survey of 250 residents of communities near the Dawei Special Economic Zone.
Jun 4, 2019
Blog
Iran, Prison College Programs, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Iran's nonstate partners, lessons from a prison college program, what a fentanyl ban in China means for the U.S. opioid crisis, and more.
May 24, 2019

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Researcher Spotlight

Derek Grossman

Senior Defense Analyst

Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation focused on a range of national security policy and Indo-Pacific security issues. He closely tracks intensifying U.S.-China competition throughout the region, including Northeast, Southeast, South, and Central Asia as well as…
Lydia Grek

Policy Analyst

Lydia Grek (she/her) is a policy analyst in the RAND Corporation's Washington D.C. office. Her research interests include Chinese foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative, cross-Strait relations, deterrence and posturing in the Indo-Pacific, and strategic competition in the space domain.…

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