A New Artificial Intelligence US-ASEAN Ministerial Boost?
Plus coming international nuclear review; military overhaul declaration; big new strategy update; delayed cross-border corridor boost 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 launch of the inaugural iteration of a new artificial intelligence ministerial;
Mapping of regional developments, such as a coming international nuclear review and new maritime consultations;
Charting evolving geopolitical, geoeconomic and security trends including military overhaul call; new strategy update; and delayed corridor boost;
Tracking and analysis of industry developments and quantitative indicators such as trade disruption fear; shadowy energy aid; digital scrutiny and more;
And much more! ICYMI, check out our ASEAN Wonk review of a new book by a former division chief forecasting geoeconomic futures triggered by a “doom loop” and its global and Indo-Pacific implications.
This Week’s WonkCount: 2,039 words (~9 minutes)
New Maritime Consultation; International Nuclear Review & More
Warring Europe Futures; Counterinsurgency Challenges & Scam Center Spotlight
“Before 2030, the EU and its member states should deepen strategic ties with key middle powers, using trade, investment, standard-setting, and security cooperation as complementary instruments,” notes a policy brief by Bertelsmann Stiftung describing geopolitical scenarios for Europe in 2035 (link).
Graphic Depicting Extreme Europe Scenario Implications
“Until a new counterinsurgency strategy is defined, the stalemate and the violence will continue,” notes a commentary by Stratsea on the long-running Southern Thailand insurgency. The piece analyzes trends in political and military strategy that has maintained the conflict over decades (link).
“What has historically remained unexamined is how these activities fit within
a broader pattern of convergent transnational organized crime with links to the Chinese Communist Party,” warns a newly-released U.S. congressional committee report on transnational crime which includes a focus on scam centers in Southeast Asia (link).
A New Artificial Intelligence US-ASEAN Ministerial Boost?
What’s Behind It
A new artificial intelligence ministerial kicked off between the United States and ASEAN countries amid other Indo-Pacific engagements1. India is scheduled to host a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Quad this coming week after bilateral engagements with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio2. Details also continued to surface on the outlines of an Iran deal alongside separate and wider regional diplomatic activities, including the visit of Pakistan’s premier to China and further rounds of meetings under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which expressed concern around the impasse on some pressing global geoeconomic agenda items3.
Select Key Recent Indo-Pacific and Global Geoeconomic and Geopolitical Developments
The new ministerial signaled the growing importance of artificial intelligence as a domain in engagements. This was reinforced by other developments by other major powers over the course of the past few weeks both in Southeast Asia as well as in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One notable case in point was the scheduled inauguration ceremony for a new China-ASEAN artificial intelligence innovation center — a key agenda item which Beijing has been playing up in its engagements at the ASEAN level in Southeast Asia which also featured the attendance of the ASEAN secretary general4.
Why It Matters
The dynamics also spotlighted datapoints to watch with wider implications (see originally generated ASEAN Wonk table 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).
Notable Policy Priorities To Watch, Along With Select Major Areas And Key Sector Dimensions
