New Submarine Cable Framework Headlines ASEAN Ministerial
Plus China fighter jet deal chatter; BRICS membership inroads; coming semiconductor deal; new rare earth controls; quiet digital rollout and much, much more.
Greetings to new readers and welcome all to the latest edition of the weekly ASEAN Wonk BulletBrief! If you haven’t already, you can upgrade to a paid subscription for $5 a month/$50 a year below to receive full posts by inserting your email address and then selecting an annual or monthly option. You can visit this page for more on pricing for institutions, groups as well as discounts. For current paid subscribers, please make sure you’re hitting the “view entire message” prompt if it comes up at the end of a post to see the full version.
For this iteration of ASEAN Wonk BulletBrief, we are looking at:
Assessing the geopolitical and geoeconomic significance of a new submarine cable framework development and other inroads at a key ministerial meet;
Mapping of regional developments, including China fighter jet deal chatter and Mekong minilateral defense engagements;
Charting evolving geopolitical, geoeconomic and security trends such as BRICS member inroads; coming semiconductor deal and rare earth controls;
Tracking and analysis of industry developments and quantitative indicators including quiet digital rollout; trade deal deadline; new platform and more;
And much more! ICYMI, check out our new ASEAN Wonk book review earlier this week assessing a work that examines the structural challenges behind India’s geoeconomic engagement in Southeast Asia and ASEAN.
This Week’s WonkCount: 2,116 words (~9 minutes)
China Fighter Jet Deal Chatter; Scam Network Fallout & More
Decoupling Acceleration Fears; Economic Security Risks & Reform Pressures
“Bilateral trade decoupling between the United States and China appears to be happening sooner when compared with the 2018–19 tariff shock,” notes the latest iteration of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook. The outlook also includes other datapoints relevant to Southeast Asia, including the tempering of some earlier worries about tariff effects and the offsetting of China’s decline in exports to the United States by “higher exports to the euro area and countries in ASEAN” (link).
Graphic Displaying Changes in Exports by Destination Regions and Tariff Episodes
“Reducing emissions is therefore essential…for our economic security,” according to a senior United Nations official’s comments accompanying the release of an updated bulletin. The bulletin provides an updated assessment of what it argues threatens to be a “vicious climate cycle” (link).
Graphic Depicting Various Types of Global Emissions
“Overall, Budget 2026 manages immediate pressures, but lasting progress depends on the government’s ability to turn fiscal restraint into reform,” observes an assessment by The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs in Malaysia on the country’s latest budget released by the government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ahead of the country’s hosting of the upcoming round of ASEAN summitry (link).
New Submarine Cable Framework Headlines ASEAN Ministerial
What’s Behind It
New submarine cable framework development headlined the latest iteration of ASEAN ministerial meetings, even though the headlines were focused more on the geopolitical buildup to upcoming summitry1. One official told ASEAN Wonk that Malaysia’s continued, separate hosting of four-country discussions with the United States on the Cambodia-Thailand border row amid ongoing speculation defied “zero-sum mentalities” in suggestions that geopolitical challenges could take the shine off of geoeconomic gains2. The inroads also came during an event-filled week in the regional geoeconomic landscape in Southeast Asia, including what officials hailed as the largest week of combined actions undertaken by Indo-Pacific partners on scam center networks and new minilateral sectoral developments in the Mekong subregion3.
Select Key Recent And Upcoming Geopolitical And Geoeconomic Developments
Geoeconomic inroads are important datapoints ahead of coming rounds of APEC and ASEAN summitry later this month. Apart from the usual series of meetings among Southeast Asian states themselves as well as with their key dialogue partners, officials say there is also set to be a more global feel featuring additional cross-continental inroads, testament to the shifting global dynamics that Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim elaborates on even further in a forthcoming book4. “For ASEAN…despite the uncertainties brought by tariffs, it is still one of the fastest-growing economies in the world…this must be managed responsibly,” Anwar cautioned in his remarks this past week while also previewing some of the transition work when Malaysia eventually officially hands over the annually-rotating ASEAN chairmanship to the Philippines for 20265.
Why It Matters
The inroads also point to priority datapoints to watch with wider regional as well as global implications (see two originally generated ASEAN Wonk tables below on notable areas to monitor and additional specifics. Paying subscribers can read on for more on what to expect and future implications in the rest of the “Why It Matters” and “Where It’s Headed” sections, along with paid-only sections of the newsletter as usual).
New Geoeconomic Deliverable Updates Along With Select Major Initiatives And Key Domains
