East Asia Forum

Five years since its implementation, Japan's Specific Skilled Worker system has underperformed lofty expectations, but reforms and future expansions still hold promise.

China's economy is facing a cyclical and structural slowdown which is complicating predictions about whether the official growth and employment targets for 2024 will be met. Due to ongoing global challenges, including geopolitical tensions and a property crash, alongside internal shifts towards a service and high-value-added production economy, China is planning to use fiscal policy and moderate monetary policy support to achieve its goals of roughly 5 per cent GDP growth and the creation of over 12 million new jobs.

Social media, particularly WhatsApp, is playing a key role in India's national elections, with its use widespread among the country's 600 million smartphone users. While it has had negative impacts, such as exacerbating sectarian tensions and promoting the spread of unreliable information, it has also exposed incidents of abuse of authority, provoking public reaction and pushing officials into action.

Kimkong Heng Department of Scientific Research, Cambodia. Back

Turmoil and violence brought on by the military regime is pushing farmers to opium, contributing to what may become a major public health crisis in Southeast Asia

The piracy and armed robbery situation in Southeast Asia is not deteriorating, as is often reported, but is instead improving. Insurance and shipping companies have emerged as significant contributors to maritime security, alongside regional states' strengthened maritime law enforcement capacities. Private actors occupy key governance functions and increasingly shape both norms and regulations in Southeast Asia's maritime security.

Social media platforms are playing a major role in Indian election campaigns, allowing parties to directly connect with voters, but also circulating misinformation and AI-generated deepfakes, raising concerns for the 2024 General Elections.

The Yiwu International Trade Market’s robust production performance delivers affordable products globally, but overcapacity risks increasing geopolitical risks and trade tensions.

In a shift from its post-war pacifism, Japan has been increasing its arms exports, most notably with the F-X fighter jet program. This is part of a larger effort to recalibrate Japan’s role in international security and strengthen its security cooperation within and beyond the Indo-Pacific. Japan has also been strengthening its ties with NATO and other regional partners and is aiming to match defence spending to NATO guidelines. But whether or not these efforts effect permanent change may depend largely on who wins the US presidency this year.

The 2024 State of Southeast Asia Survey, by the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, exposes an interesting disconnect — approximately half of the respondents favoured siding with China and half favoured the United States but showed greater trust in the United States. These findings reflect Southeast Asia's strategic challenge in managing the rise of China and escalating China–US rivalry, in addition to concerns about maintaining the rules-based order, liberal global trade and the rule of international law. This strategic dilemma is made more difficult by the rapidly changing geoeconomic landscape and emerging protectionism across the globe.