🎯 The Main Takeaway

The Asia Group released its latest report, “No Safe Harbor: Asia’s Continued Exposure to the Strait of Hormuz,” on June 29.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of how disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could affect major Asian economies across key sectors in the short, medium, and long-term periods.

The assessment is expected to help governments, businesses, central banks, and policymakers prepare response strategies and scenario plans to reduce potential risks and ease the impact of a possible crisis.

📡 Why It’s on Our Radar

Iran has announced plans to close the Strait of Hormuz again, after its delegation walked out of the U.S.-Iran peace talks on Monday (6/22) in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.

The negotiations, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, ended after Iran protested the U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to resume attacks on the Islamic Republic if Hezbollah’s actions in Lebanon continue.

Iran has temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, including oil tankers and commercial vessels since the conflict began, following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28.

The restrictions have continued through the fragile U.S.-Iran and Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, along with fragile peace talks in April, as well as the escalating tensions over alleged Israeli attacks on Lebanon in June.

Any ship wishing to pass through or transit the Strait of Hormuz must coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and pay a service fee to receive a designated safe-passage route from the authorities.

⭐ However...

Both sides agreed to continue negotiations over the future of the Strait of Hormuz, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17, to extend the ceasefire for another 60 days.

During this period, Iran agreed to allow ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz free of charge, subject to strict security protocols and monitoring.

However, the negotiations are currently on hold and are continuing through indirect talks in Doha, with Qatar serving as the mediator.

In addition, the negotiations also include discussions on the release of Iran’s USD 6 billion in frozen assets, sanctions relief, and the continuation of its nuclear program.

⚠️ Why It Matters?

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important energy chokepoint. Around 25% of global oil and 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments pass through the strait, with up to 90% of these exports destined for Asian markets. Supply disruptions could increase the risk of energy shortages and crises in many countries.

Beyond oil and gas, the Strait of Hormuz is also a key transit route for petrochemicals, plastics, aluminum, helium, and sulfur. These commodities are essential raw materials for the manufacturing, agriculture, and consumer goods industries, making the strait critical to global supply chains and economic stability.

📉 As the Result...

Any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger widespread disruptions across global supply chains, affecting multiple sectors, including:

• Artificial Intelligence: AI depends on semiconductors, copper, aluminum, steel, and helium to produce microchips and build data centers. Qatar supplies around 30% of the world’s helium, so any disruption could slow AI development and data center expansion.

• Clean Energy: The EV industry needs nickel, lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, steel, and aluminum to make batteries and vehicles. Supply disruptions could slow EV production and the clean energy transition.

• Medicine and Healthcare: India supplies around 20% of the world’s generic medicines, including key Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). Supply chain disruptions could delay the production and delivery of essential medicines and medical products worldwide.

• Metals and Critical Minerals: Around 25% of the world’s sulfur is produced by Gulf countries, and about 50% of global sulfur trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Sulfur is essential for processing critical minerals used in the electric and manufacturing industries.

These conditions could push up the prices of energy, commodities, and raw materials, leading to higher inflation. As a result, financial markets could become more volatile, business competitiveness could decline, investment could slow, and economic growth could weaken, particularly across Asia.

🧭 The Big Picture

The report examines the macroeconomic, political, and geopolitical repercussions of a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as its impact on Asia’s manufacturing, agriculture, and energy sectors.

To provide a more focused analysis, the research covers Asia’s four largest economies—China, India, Japan, and South Korea—as well as five major Southeast Asian emerging economies: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

🏡 Why This Hits Home?

Southeast Asia relies heavily on the Strait of Hormuz for its energy supply. Around 60% of the region’s crude oil and 30% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) are imported from West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, through this key shipping route.

Any disruption could increase the risk of an energy crisis and put more pressure on government budgets. As oil and gas prices rise because of tighter supply, governments may need to spend more on fuel subsidies to keep domestic energy prices stable.

A closure of the Strait of Hormuz could also hurt Southeast Asia’s manufacturing sector. Higher shipping costs and supply chain disruptions would increase production costs and slow industrial activity.

In addition, countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam export key raw materials—including nickel, lithium, cobalt, rubber, coal, palm oil, rice, coffee, filament, and fiber—that support industries such as automotive, agriculture, food, textiles, energy, and manufacturing across Asia and the world.

🌍 The Insights on Southeast Asia

The report highlights several key insights for Southeast Asia, including:

• Growing Fiscal Challenges: Southeast Asian countries have fewer financial resources and commodity reserves than Asia’s advanced economies. As energy prices rise, governments may have to spend more on fuel subsidies, putting greater pressure on state budgets.

• Growing Cost Pressures: Rising energy prices are increasing costs across Southeast Asia for manufacturing, logistics, and construction. As living costs continue to rise, inflation could also create political pressure in several countries.

• Growing Manufacturing Challenges: Southeast Asia remains an attractive manufacturing hub, but its reliance on imported energy could reduce its competitiveness. Countries that diversify their energy supply will be better positioned to attract investment.

• Shifting Foreign Policy: As the conflict impacts the economy, Southeast Asian governments are adopting a more balanced stance between the United States and China. Many countries are also strengthening ties with other regional partners to protect their economic and strategic interests.

🇮🇩 Indonesia: The Energy Challenge

Indonesia has diversified its energy sources, but the Strait of Hormuz crisis has exposed its vulnerability as a net energy importer. Rising global oil prices continue to put pressure on the country’s energy supply and economy.

To keep domestic fuel prices stable, the government has committed around USD 14 billion in fuel subsidies. It has also proposed increasing royalties on coal, nickel, and several other commodities to generate an additional USD 8.9 billion in state revenue.

While these measures have increased pressure on the state budget and raised concerns about fiscal sustainability and investor confidence, they are expected to support economic growth. Indonesia’s GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been revised up from 4.9% before the conflict to 5.0%, while inflation is projected to rise slightly from 2.9% to 3.0%.

🇲🇾 Malaysia: The Fiscal Pressure

Malaysia is better protected than many Southeast Asian countries, because it is a net energy exporter. However, rising LNG prices and crude oil supply disruptions are putting pressure on its refining and petrochemical industries.

Higher energy prices have sharply increased the government’s fuel subsidy costs. Although Petronas benefits from stronger export revenues, the fuel subsidy bill has grown tenfold, creating significant pressure on the country’s fiscal budget.

Despite these challenges, Malaysia’s economic outlook has improved. The country’s GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been revised up from 4.0% before the conflict to 4.7%, while inflation is projected to ease slightly from 2.2% to 1.9%.

🇹🇭 Thailand: The Growth Challenge

Thailand entered the crisis with weak domestic demand and slower economic growth than many of its regional peers. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has added pressure by increasing living costs and weakening consumer confidence.

The crisis is unlikely to trigger major political instability, but it has added to public concerns over weak economic growth, high household debt, and rising prices. To support the economy, the government approved a USD 12.2 billion emergency borrowing package.

Despite these measures, Thailand’s GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been revised down from 1.6% before the conflict to 1.5%, while inflation is projected to rise slightly from 0.7% to 0.9%.

🇵🇭 The Philippines: The Energy Burden

The Philippines depends heavily on the West Asia and Arabian Peninsula for its oil supply, importing more than 95% of its crude oil from the region before the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Its economy also relies on remittances from overseas workers in the Gulf.

As fuel prices increased, the government declared a national energy emergency and provided USD 350 million in fuel and transport subsidies. Higher living costs have also forced many households to rely more on credit cards and short-term loans.

Despite these measures, the Philippines’ GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been revised down from 5.7% before the conflict to 4.1%, while inflation is projected to rise from 2.6% to 4.3%.

🇻🇳 Vietnam: The Energy Strategy

Vietnam has responded to the Strait of Hormuz crisis by expanding its strategic oil reserves, lowering fuel import tariffs, and diversifying its crude oil supplies. However, the country still faces challenges if the disruption continues for a long period.

To keep fuel prices stable, the government has cut fuel import tariffs and used its fuel price stabilization fund. However, higher inflation and energy costs could reduce investment in technology and advanced manufacturing industries.

Despite these challenges, Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast for 2026 has been revised up from 5.6% before the conflict to 7.1%, while inflation is projected to rise from 3.2% to 4.9%.

💡 The Solutions and Countermeasures

The Asia Group recommends several short- and long-term measures to help Southeast Asian countries maintain energy and commodity supplies and reduce the risk of future crises.

• Short-term: Increase fuel subsidies through additional government funding or debt if necessary, and use strategic energy reserves to meet temporary demand and stabilize domestic prices.

• Long-term: Diversify energy imports by expanding partnerships with suppliers in Russia, Africa, and other regions, while accelerating investment in renewable energy to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.

📌 The Bottom Line

The Strait of Hormuz is not only an energy route, but also a key link in global supply chains. Any disruption could affect industries ranging from artificial intelligence and clean energy to healthcare and manufacturing.

For Southeast Asia, the issue is not only how to respond to today’s crisis, but also how to prepare for the next one. Countries that build stronger energy security and more resilient supply chains will be better placed to protect growth, attract investment, and stay competitive.

🔍 Need More Angles?

Bloomberg Technoz Bahlil Buka Taktik Tutup Beban Subsidi BBM: Lewat Royalti Minerba

International Energy Agency Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2026

International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook: Global Economy in the Shadow of War

The Asia Group NO SAFE HARBOR: Asia's Continued Exposure to Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz

(NGO/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

The waters of Southeast Asia are a major driver of the region's economy. The Strait of Malacca is one of the world's busiest and most important shipping routes, carrying about a quarter of global maritime trade, and also plays a vital role in transporting oil and natural gas to countries across Asia.

However, climate change and growing pressure to decarbonize are threatening this economic engine. Rising sea levels are damaging coastal infrastructure, especially in Indonesia. At the same time, stricter global carbon rules are putting pressure on high-emission ports in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.

As these challenges grow, Southeast Asia is taking steps to make its maritime sector more sustainable. The goal is to protect coastal areas from climate change, while keeping the region’s maritime economy strong.

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📡 Why It’s On Our Radar

In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a legally binding framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships, with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by around 2050.

After the rules were adopted in October 2025, countries such as Singapore began strengthening their maritime strategies by investing in research on zero-emission technologies and alternative fuels for ships.

This is a clear sign that the new rules will have a major economic impact on Southeast Asia. For the region’s maritime industry, sustainability is no longer a choice—it is essential for long-term growth and survival.

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⚠️ Why it’s Important

Rising sea levels caused by climate change have become a serious challenge across Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. For years, reports have warned that Jakarta, the country’s capital, has been sinking by as much as 30 centimeters each year.

Other areas, including Bangkok in Thailand, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and Manila in the Philippines, are also at risk from rising sea levels.

This shows that Southeast Asia faces two major challenges. The region must respond to stricter global climate rules, while also protecting its coastlines from the growing impacts of climate change.

🏡 Why This Hits Home?

Southeast Asia is uniquely located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, making the region one of the world’s most important maritime crossroads.

The region covers about 8.94 million square kilometers, or 2.5% of the world’s ocean surface, and has a coastline stretching more than 173,000 kilometers.

These waters are among the richest marine ecosystems on Earth. They are home to 76% of the world’s coral species, 37% of coral reef fish species, and 23 seagrass species.

Around 700 million people also depend on the ocean for their livelihoods through fisheries, ecotourism, and other marine-based industries.

As the impacts of climate change intensifies, Southeast Asia faces growing risks to its economy, coastal communities, and marine resources. Strong and sustainable maritime policies are essential to protect the region's future.

🚢 Latest Maritime Policies from Southeast Asia

🇮🇩 Indonesia: Seawall Project

Indonesia has sped up its long-delayed Seawall Project, with construction expected to begin in September 2026. The USD 80 billion project will build a 575-kilometer seawall along the northern coast of Java to protect the area from land subsidence, and rising sea levels.

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, said the project will also include large-scale mangrove restoration. This shows that Indonesia is combining major infrastructure with nature-based solutions, to build a more sustainable future.

🇸🇬 Singapore: Maritime Technology & Research Roadmap 2026

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have unveiled Singapore’s maritime research roadmap for 2026.

Backed by more than SGD 100 million in research funding, the roadmap shows Singapore’s commitment to meeting the International Maritime Organization’s global emissions targets. The roadmap focuses on four key priorities:

• Autonomous port operations: Using automation and artificial intelligence to make port operations safer and more efficient.

• Safe and efficient alternative fuels: Developing a reliable fuel ecosystem to support cleaner shipping.

• Smart ships: Building more connected and intelligent ships with advanced digital technologies.

• Smarter port services: Improving port services to create a faster, smoother, and more coordinated experience for ships.

The 2026 roadmap builds on Singapore's 2019 plan with new priorities for the maritime sector. The focus on alternative energy sets a clear sign, that Singapore is taking a sustainable approach towards its maritime policies.

🇲🇾 Malaysia: Maritime Masterplan 2026-2040

During Malaysia Maritime Week 2025, Malaysia introduced its new maritime policy framework, the Malaysia Maritime Masterplan 2026–2035. The plan highlights the government’s commitment to climate action, sustainability, and long-term growth in the maritime sector.

The masterplan focuses on three key priorities:

• Digitalization: Modernizing ports and maritime services through digital technology to improve port operations.

• Maritime decarbonization: Reducing carbon emissions from the shipping sector and supporting the transition to cleaner energy, in line with International Maritime Organization targets.

• Strategic fleet development: Strengthening Malaysia's domestic shipping fleet, to reduce reliance on foreign vessels and improve maritime resilience.

On 12 March 2026, Anwar Ibrahim also stressed the importance of sustainability in Malaysia’s blue economy. He highlighted blue renewable energy as a key sector to support the country’s future economic growth.

📌 The Bottom Line

At first glance, stricter climate rules may seem like a threat to Southeast Asia’s maritime economy. In reality, they are becoming a driver of innovation.

As Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia reshape their maritime policies, sustainability is no longer slowing economic growth—it is helping secure the future of ports, shipping, and regional trade.

The countries that lead in green ports, clean shipping, and climate-resilient infrastructure, will be better positioned to strengthen their competitiveness, protect their coastlines, and keep Southeast Asia at the center of global maritime trade.

🔍 Need More Angles?

• Antara News Giant Sea Wall to be combined with mangrove restoration : Minister

• Bernama Sailing Toward Sustainability Via Malaysia Maritime Masterplan 2026–2040

• Jakarta Globe Jakarta Is Sinking: Sea Levels Now Higher Than the City’s Coastline

• Jakarta Globe Prabowo to Kick Off $80 Billion Seawall Project after 30-Year Delay

• International Maritime Organization Draft regulations will set mandatory marine fuel standard and GHG emissions pricing for shipping to address climate change

• Sea Asia The Malacca Strait: Southeast Asia’s Quiet Grip on the World Economy

• The ASEAN Magazine One ASEAN Sea: Harnessing Regional Collaboration for Our Shared Future

• Watter Issues Indonesia to build a giant sea wall. It is meant to protect Java from rising sea levels

(FRD/NGO/ELS)

Bigger in scale, richer in emotion, and more ambitious in its storytelling, Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 marks a confident evolution for Netflix's live-action adaptation. Beyond the return of familiar heroes and the arrival of long-awaited characters, the new season also shines a spotlight on several actors with Southeast Asian heritage—underscoring the franchise's enduring connection to the cultures that inspired its world.

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🎯 The Main Takeaway

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 expands both its world and its ensemble, introducing several new characters portrayed by actors with Southeast Asian heritage. As Netflix ventures deeper into the Earth Kingdom, the casting reflects the franchise’s long-standing inspiration from Asian cultures while bringing fresh faces to one of its most anticipated chapters.

👀 Why It's on Our Radar

Season 2 picks up after the events of the first season, following Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), and Sokka (Ian Ousley) as they journey across the Earth Kingdom in search of Aang’s earthbending master. But the story quickly proves to be far more than another adventure.

Rather than presenting a simple battle between good and evil, the new season broadens the political and emotional landscape of the Avatar universe. The Earth Kingdom is depicted as a society shaped by corruption, propaganda, and institutional control, making the conflict feel more grounded and nuanced than ever before.

💭 Our Take

Season 2 marks a clear step forward for Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s more ambitious, emotionally richer, and more confident in adapting the beloved animated series. The long-awaited introduction of Toph as Aang’s earthbending teacher is a standout, with the character bringing the same wit, confidence, and scene-stealing presence that made her a fan favorite in the original. Alongside the stunning recreation of Ba Sing Se, the season successfully expands the world and raises the emotional stakes.

That said, the season isn’t without its flaws. Some episodes rely too heavily on dialogue and exposition, occasionally slowing the pace instead of letting action and visual storytelling drive the narrative. As a result, several emotional moments don’t land with the same impact as they did in the animated series.

One notable example is Appa’s disappearance. In the original series, the storyline unfolds with heartbreaking intensity, allowing audiences to fully experience Aang’s grief and Appa’s suffering. Here, the arc feels noticeably condensed—a likely consequence of adapting a sprawling animated season into fewer live-action episodes—but one that leaves one of the franchise’s most memorable storylines with less room to breathe.

Even so, Season 2 remains an engaging and worthwhile watch. It demonstrates a stronger understanding of what makes Avatar resonate with audiences while expanding its ensemble with several actors of Southeast Asian heritage, further celebrating the Asian cultural influences that have always been at the heart of the franchise.

🎭 Meet the Cast

1. Gordon Cormier (Philippines)

As the young Avatar Aang, Gordon Cormier returns as the heart of Netflix’s live-action adaptation. The Filipino-Canadian actor was born in Vancouver to a Canadian father and a Filipina mother from Laguna, Philippines.

Cormier was only 11 years old when he was cast as Aang, instantly becoming one of the youngest leads in a major Netflix fantasy series. Before Avatar, he made his television debut in Get Shorty before appearing in The Stand and Lost in Space. In Season 2, his performance reflects Aang’s growing burden as the Avatar while preserving the optimism and compassion that define the beloved character.

2. Dallas Liu (Indonesia)

Dallas Liu returns as Prince Zuko, arguably one of the emotional centers of Season 2. Born in the United States, Liu is of Chinese and Chinese-Indonesian descent through his mother, who is from Jakarta.

A former competitive Shotokan karate athlete, Liu brings physicality and emotional restraint to one of Avatar‘s most complex characters. This season places Zuko at a turning point as he begins questioning the ideals that have shaped his life, making his internal struggle one of the adaptation’s most compelling storylines.

3. Jordan Roberto Chien (Philippines)

Jordan Roberto Chien joins Season 2 as Young Zuko, offering a glimpse into the Fire Nation prince’s childhood and the experiences that shaped him long before his exile.

The young actor is of Filipino and Taiwanese descent. Introduced to performing by his mother, Filipino singer and actress Josephine Roberto, Chien began acting at an early age before landing the role that many Avatar fans had been eager to see brought to life.

4. Thalia Tran (Vietnam)

Thalia Tran makes her Avatar debut as Mai, one of Princess Azula’s closest allies and a fan-favorite character from the original animated series. The Vietnamese-American actress was born in California and began acting after taking classes recommended by her vocal coach.

Audiences may recognize Tran from her voice role in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and appearances in television series including Tiny Feminist and Hotel Du Loone. In Season 2, she brings Mai’s signature stoicism and dry wit into the live-action world.

5. Jon Jon Briones (Philippines)

Acclaimed Filipino-American stage actor Jon Jon Briones is set to portray Piandao, the legendary swordsman, master bladesmith, and renowned calligrapher, in Season 3.

Best known for his performances in Miss Saigon and Ratched, Briones joins the franchise as one of the White Lotus’ most respected masters. Fans of the animated series will recognize Piandao as Sokka’s swordsmanship mentor, whose lessons extend far beyond combat and become a defining chapter in Sokka’s journey.

6. Dolly de Leon (Philippines)

Award-winning Filipino actress Dolly de Leon makes a memorable appearance in Season 2 as Lo and Li, the elderly twin sisters who serve as Princess Azula’s trusted advisers and firebending instructors.

De Leon rose to international prominence with her critically acclaimed performance in Triangle of Sadness, earning Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations—the first Filipino actor ever nominated for either award. While her role in Avatar is relatively brief, her casting adds another celebrated Southeast Asian talent to Netflix’s growing ensemble.

⭐ Final Thoughts

While Avatar: The Last Airbender has always drawn inspiration from Asian cultures—from martial arts and philosophy to architecture and fashion—its live-action adaptation continues to evolve by embracing a more representative cast. The inclusion of actors with Southeast Asian heritage not only reflects the cultural influences behind the Four Nations, but also highlights the growing visibility of Southeast Asian talent in global productions.

As the series moves toward its third and final season, these performers will continue shaping some of Avatar‘s most beloved storylines. For audiences across Southeast Asia, their presence serves as another reminder that authentic representation isn’t just about who inspires a story—it’s also about who gets to tell it.

Which cast member with Southeast Asian roots stood out to you the most?

Share your thoughts in the comments, and let us know who you're most excited to see in the next chapter of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender.

(VIL/VBD)

🎙️ Opening

😊 If I asked you...

❓ “What would make you happier?”

💭 What would your answer be?

💰 A higher salary?

🏡 A bigger house?

✈️ More vacation days?

🚗💨 Or maybe just a little less traffic.

😅 Because let’s be honest, that alone could improve the mood of millions of people.

🌍 Every year, the World Happiness Report ranks countries based on how people evaluate their own lives.

🥇 And once again, 🇫🇮 Finland comes out on top, with the Nordic countries ❄️ dominating the global happiness rankings.

🌏 But what about Southeast Asia?

😊 Who’s the happiest?

📊 Let’s find out.

🎙️ Hello and welcome to The Southeast Asia Desk Weekly Dispatch Podcast. I’m Akasha Viandri.

🧭🌏 This is where we slow down the headlines and make sense of the stories shaping Southeast Asia.

😊 The Happiest Countries in Southeast Asia

🤔 If we look at happiness through simple logic, we might think:

💰 The richer the country, the happier the people, right?

📊 If we take a look at the IMF’s World Economic Outlook projection, 🇮🇩 Indonesia is expected to remain the largest economy in Southeast Asia in 2026, with a nominal GDP of around USD 1.55 trillion.

Followed by 🇸🇬 Singapore at around USD 606.23 billion.

Then come 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇵🇭 the Philippines, 🇻🇳 Vietnam, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇲🇲 Myanmar, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, 🇱🇦 Laos, 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam, and 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste.

💭 But it seems happiness isn’t just about money.

❓ Why?

😊 According to the latest World Happiness Report 2026, 🇸🇬 Singapore is once again the happiest country in Southeast Asia, ranking 34th globally.

🥈 🇻🇳 Vietnam comes next at 46th.

Followed by 🇹🇭 Thailand at 49th, 🇵🇭 the Philippines at 57th, and 🇲🇾 Malaysia at 64th.

Meanwhile, 🇮🇩 Indonesia ranks lower at 83rd.

Followed by 🇱🇦 Laos, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, and 🇲🇲 Myanmar at 93rd, 124th, and 126th.

📋 Meanwhile, 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste is not included in the list.

🤷 If money alone determined happiness...

The rankings would probably look very different.

🧠 So, how do they come up with this list?

📈 Researchers look at several factors.

💵 Income is one of them.

❤️ But so are social support, 🩺 healthy life expectancy, 🕊️ freedom to make life choices, 🤲 generosity, and 🏛️ trust in institutions.

🌱 The Happiness Index looks at quality of life beyond just economic output.

❤️ Happiness Isn’t Just About Money

🇸🇬 Take Singapore, for example.

✨ Life satisfaction here is more than just economic success.

🏙️ It also reflects infrastructure, safety, and the quality of governance.

🇻🇳🇹🇭 But then look at Vietnam and Thailand.

💰 Neither country is as wealthy as 🇸🇬 Singapore.

❤️ Yet both perform remarkably well. The reasons?

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Community, family, and strong social connections.

🤝 Researchers have long found that people who feel supported by those around them tend to report higher levels of happiness.

🌏 One interesting thing about Southeast Asia is that many cultures in the region naturally encourage togetherness, from family gatherings 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 to religious festivals 🎉.

😊 That may explain why several middle-income countries continue to perform surprisingly well despite having lower incomes than many developed nations.

🇮🇩 Meanwhile, Indonesia, with a lower ranking, has its own story.

🏝️ With many islands, thousands of ethnic groups and cultures, and also our unique sense of humor...

😂 Don’t question social connections here.

😄 We are happy.

🤔 But it seems that people are not that happy with the ones who have power.

💭 You know what I mean.

📰 Look at the headlines.

📱 Look at the conversations on social media.

😤 People are frustrated with what is happening now.

📊 Meanwhile, a survey evaluating the current administration showed that around 72 percent of respondents were satisfied with its performance, meaning the rest were not.

🤨 What?

🤔 Hmm, really?

😅 What the f…

😂 I’m just mimicking some people’s responses on social media.

⚖️ Maybe surveys tell one part of the story.

💬 And public conversations tell another.

🫵 You decide.

🎙️ Closing

🤔 What can we reflect from this?

🏛️ For public policy thinkers, 🌆 urban planners, and 💡 social innovators across ASEAN,

📊 the report suggests that well-being indicators should also be part of future planning,

alongside 💰 GDP, 🏗️ infrastructure, and 📈 investment.

🏛️ And for governments, maybe it’s a moment to reflect.

😊 Are people actually living happily?

❤️ Because yes, social support and culture matter.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family matters.

🤝 Community matters.

🏡 But happiness is also built by everyday things.

🚍 The facilities and services people have already paid for through their taxes.

✅ And making sure they are implemented properly.

📑 Not just about rushing to achieve numbers or hitting targets on paper.

🌱 Because at the end of the day, progress is not only about what a country achieves.

💖 It’s also about whether people can actually feel it.

💭 What do you think?

🫵 You answer.

🎙️ I’m Akasha Viandri, and this has been The Southeast Asia Desk Weekly Dispatch Podcast, where we slow down the noise and follow the region’s compass. 🧭🌏

📬 If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our newsletter at thesoutheastasiadesk.com, and join us again next weekend for stories to linger over, one weekend at a time. ✨

🎯 The Main Takeaway

There is a new disrupting Southeast Asia's production ecosystem. At the 2026 Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS), Jakarta officially pivoted from being just a consumer market into a high-stakes production hub. By launching "Filming in Jakarta", a centralized service aggressively slashing red tape and costs. The city is making a calculated play to capture the region's multi-billion-dollar "screen economy" and directly challenge established filming capitals like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

🔍 Why It’s on Our Radar

Jakarta is no longer just offering scenery; it is leveraging its massive scale to reshape where global studios allocate their Southeast Asian budgets. This move commands regional attention for three structural reasons:

• 📊 Weaponizing Market Scale: Indonesia anchors a broader Southeast Asian digital economy projected to surpass $330 billion, with domestic cinema admissions on track to hit a massive 120 million by late 2026. Jakarta is using this built-in consumer base as leverage, offering international studios frictionless production in exchange for anchoring their investments locally.

• 🎬 Immediate Studio Defection: The strategy is already pulling capital across borders. Following the APOS summit, Netflix committed to shooting six new films in Jakarta, with regional executives publicly citing the city’s potential to become “the best shooting location in Southeast Asia.” This signals a tangible shift in how global streamers are mapping their regional logistics.

• 💰 The 50/50 Financial Shockwave: To outbid its neighbors, Jakarta has rolled out highly aggressive subsidies: 50% off location rentals for state-owned assets and a 50% box-office tax rebate. This sets a fierce new financial benchmark, acting as a direct counter-punch to the 20–30% cash rebates currently offered by Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

As Jakarta unleashes massive 50% financial subsidies to undercut established neighbors, the ultimate test remains: are these competing capitals actually building sustainable, long-term media ecosystems for their own storytellers, or are they simply bleeding their local tax revenues to subsidize the bottom line of global streaming giants? Lets see what will come.

⚖️ What’s at Stake

Economic revitalization versus bureaucratic inertia. Historically, navigating filming permits in a bustling metropolis like Jakarta has been a logistical nightmare. By streamlining the process through the Jakarta Film Commission and Jakarta Experience Board (JXT), the city is betting that ease of doing business will directly translate into a creative boom. Failure to execute smoothly could mean losing out to more established regional filming hubs.

⚖️ The Stakes

Economic revitalization versus bureaucratic inertia. Historically, navigating filming permits in a sprawling, congested metropolis like Jakarta has been a logistical nightmare.

• The Bet: By streamlining the entire process through the Jakarta Film Commission and Jakarta Experience Board (JXT), the city hopes this ease of doing business will trigger a massive creative boom and an influx of foreign investment.

• The Risk: Poor execution or lingering red tape means losing ground to established regional hubs that already have this infrastructure down to a science.

🌏 The Big Picture

Jakarta is stepping into a highly competitive, multi-billion-dollar arena where neighboring capitals have already spent years perfecting their pitches. To stand out, the Indonesian capital will have to go toe-to-toe with established hubs that use aggressive financial models and hyper-efficient infrastructure to lure global studios. Here is how the regional map shapes up:

🇲🇾 Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) • The Heavyweight Fighter

Malaysia has firmly established itself as the region’s financial titan for filmmakers, relying on aggressive capital and large-scale logistics to draw global franchises.

• 💰 The Hook: A massive 30% cash rebate (FIMI), sweetened with an extra 5% “cultural content” bonus.

• 🎬 The Wins: Successfully lured multi-million-dollar productions, including Netflix’s upcoming The Lord of the Flies series and major European reality franchises.

🇸🇬 Singapore • The Elite Architect

Eschewing high-volume shoots, the city-state plays an exclusive, premium game designed to establish itself as the media ecosystem anchor for global conglomerates.

• 💰 The Hook: A massive S$200 million Talent Accelerator Programme (TAP) and an invite-only On-Screen Fund.

• 🎬 The Wins: Aggressively co-funding high-end international co-productions and serving as the strategic headquarters for entertainment giants.

• 🎯 The Strategy: Positioning itself not just as a location, but as Asia’s premium, high-value co-production hub.

🇹🇭 Thailand (Bangkok) • The Veteran Disrupter

Thailand seamlessly blends lucrative financial incentives with a legendary, hyper-efficient local production crew network to turn shoots into cultural moments.

• 💰 The Hook: A lucrative cash rebate of up to 30%, with recent policy updates removing rebate caps entirely for mega-blockbusters.

• 🎬 The Wins: Turned a single three-day shoot for global megastar Lisa’s Rockstar music video in Yaowarat into an overnight global tourism and soft-power phenomenon.

• 🎯 The Strategy: Weaponizing hyper-efficiency and cultural cachet to deliver fast, culturally resonant, high-impact productions.

🇵🇭 Philippines (Manila) • The Co-Production Specialist

Manila relies heavily on deep-rooted cultural ties and highly adaptive creative talent to capture international co-productions looking for a frictionless entry point.

• 💰 The Hook: Up to a 20% cash rebate through their Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP).

• 🎬 The Wins: Securing international partnerships by offering tailored, hands-on local auditing and robust structural support.

• 🎯 The Strategy: Acting as the ultimate collaborative partner and cultural bridge for global studios entering Southeast Asian filmmaking.

🇻🇳 Vietnam (Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City) • The Rising Underdog

While still developing formalised cash rebates, Vietnam is aggressively entering the conversation by weaponizing its breathtaking geography and dramatically lower operational costs.

• 💰 The Hook: Streamlined government and military location clearances combined with ultra-lean logistics.

• 🎬 The Wins: Quickly becoming the go-to destination for independent cinema and streaming features seeking massive cinematic scale on a lean budget.

• 🎯 The Strategy: Selling raw, stunning natural topography and unbeatable cost-efficiency to undercut the established hubs.

🌊 The Regional Ripple Effect

This is a calculated play for Southeast Asia’s booming digital economy. Beyond local job creation and cultural pride, Jakarta’s initiative is a strategic move to capture a much larger share of a rapidly expanding regional creative sector.

• 📊 The Market Muscle: The broader Southeast Asian internet and digital economy is projected to surpass $330 billion. Indonesia already anchors this growth. With domestic cinema admissions officially projected to hit 120 million by late 2026, Jakarta offers a massive, built-in audience that smaller hubs simply cannot match.

• 🎬 The Proof of Concept: The strategy is already yielding hard returns. Capitalizing on these newly announced incentives, global streaming giant Netflix recently confirmed plans to shoot six new films directly in Jakarta—a clear signal that major studios are beginning to shift their regional production budgets toward the Indonesian capital.

🛑 The Bottom Line

Jakarta is weaponizing its scale. While regional neighbors rely on elite co-production funds or legacy infrastructure, Jakarta is now offering a high-volume, low-friction entry point into Southeast Asia’s most lucrative consumer market. By aggressively slashing costs under industry-literate leadership, the city’s pitch to the global entertainment industry is undeniable: don’t just export to our audience—anchor your productions here.

(NZL/ARS)

Your curated wrap-up from The Southeast Asia Desk.

✍️ Editorial Note

Hello and welcome back,

This week, Southeast Asia reminds us that resilience is not only built in summit halls or policy documents. It is also found in communities adapting to heat, cities rethinking their futures, and local actors taking ownership of development.

From climate risks to cultural memory, this edition looks at how the region continues to live with change: sometimes urgently, sometimes quietly, but always with creativity and determination.

🌡️ Southeast Asia faces deadly heatwave and haze risks

Extreme heat, haze, and El Niño-linked weather pressures are putting millions across the region at risk. The crisis highlights the urgent need for stronger climate adaptation, public health planning, and regional environmental cooperation.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/southeast-asia-deadly-heatwave-haze-el-nino-2026

🌍 Global Sustainable Development Congress 2026: ASEAN and the SDGs

The Global Sustainable Development Congress placed ASEAN’s development challenges in focus, from inequality and climate action to education and innovation. The discussion showed how Southeast Asia’s SDG progress will matter far beyond the region.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/global-sustainable-development-congress-2026-asean-sdgs

🇨🇳 Jakarta forum signals deeper China–ASEAN engagement

A Jakarta forum highlighted the need to strengthen China–ASEAN cooperation across trade, infrastructure, and strategic dialogue. As regional economies seek growth, balancing opportunity and dependency remains a key question.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/jakarta-forum-signals-deeper-china

🤝 From collaboration to local hands: SLPI Phase II shifts towards embedded sustainability

Development partnerships across Southeast Asia are increasingly shifting toward local ownership. The story highlights why sustainable impact depends not only on funding, but on trust, capacity, and community leadership.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/from-collaboration-to-local-hands

🏙️ Southeast Asian global cities and urban imagination

From Jakarta and Bangkok to Singapore and Manila, Southeast Asian cities are becoming global symbols in their own right. Their skylines, cultures, and contradictions shape how the world imagines the region. Mochamad Alvin Dwiana Qobulsyah writes his thoughts on this discourse.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/southeast-asian-global-cities-and

☕ Weekend Brew

🛶 Five Southeast Asian water villages worth knowing

Across the region, water villages tell stories of adaptation, trade, and community life. From stilt houses to floating markets, these places remind us that Southeast Asia’s relationship with water is both practical and deeply cultural.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/5-southeast-asia-water-villages

🎧 The Dispatch Podcast: Michelin stars in Southeast Asia

This week’s episode explores how Michelin recognition is reshaping Southeast Asia’s food scene—from fine-dining rooms to beloved local kitchens.

Listen here:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/s26e21-michelin-stars-in-southeast

🎉 Joy, longing, and celebration: Inside Southeast Asia’s June music boom

From music to memory, Southeast Asian celebrations often carry both happiness and nostalgia. This story looks at how people gather, remember, and find meaning through shared cultural moments.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/joy-longing-and-celebration-inside

✍️ Closing Note

This week’s stories show a region learning to live with the pressure of environmental, urban, and geopolitical issues, while still holding space for beauty, memory, and community.

Thank you for reading and growing with us.

✨ Stories to linger over, one week at a time.

(QOB/ELS)

Many CIOs are discovering a difficult truth: the metrics that matter to AI teams rarely translate well to executives. Model accuracy, prompt volume, and automation percentages show progress, but they don’t tell CFOs, CEOs, and directors how AI will increase revenue, drive agility, reduce risk, or improve resilience.

With AI-related investment projected to surpass US$110 billion by 2028, the stakes have never been higher. Boards are becoming more hands-on in oversight, and regulators are turning their attention toward model risk, data governance, and safe deployment. To meet this moment, CIOs need to lead with a new value language, one that anchors AI programs in growth, profitability, risk reduction, and workforce capability.

For technical teams to justify AI investments, they need to speak the board’s language to earn credibility, get funding, and align teams for enterprise AI. CIOs must act now to shift ROI from activity-based to outcome-driven metrics, prioritising business performance over AI model development.

Distilling the Real Value of AI for the Board

For years, AI ROI has focused on efficiency gains, such as support tickets closed, shorter sales cycles, and server consolidation. It’s increasingly automating workflows and reshaping customer experience, revenue streams, and the way compliance and talent are managed.

However, as we transition from basic tools to Agentic AI and a fully AI-augmented workforce capable of completing complex, high-performance tasks, ROI needs to be measured by its value to the business, just as we judge humans. What these systems deliver and what they cost are now central concerns for the board.

Yet reporting on enterprise AI programs still relies on metrics that do not demonstrate spreadsheet value. As boards fund outcomes, not activities, they increasingly want to see:

• Growth: Higher conversion, improved retention, new revenue streams.

• Profit: Lower cost-to-serve, shorter cycle times, improved working capital.

• Risk: Reduced loss expectancy, fewer incidents, stronger controls.

• Capability: Faster upskilling and a more productive, AI-augmented workforce.

Amid the rapid AI implementations in SEA, too many AI dashboards remain filled with model statistics rather than business impact. This makes programmes look like experiments rather than strategic investments. Fragmentation adds to the problem, with non-specific data, unclear ownership, and inconsistent governance leaving organisations stuck in experimentation mode.

The Balanced AI Value Scorecard

A practical step to measure AI ROI clearly is to use the Balanced AI Value Scorecard model, which is easily understood by the board and leverages existing data in a format relevant to decision-making.

The Balanced AI Value Scorecard connects directly to the P&L by measuring:

1. Growth KPIs: Conversion lift, retention gains, cross-sell rate, lead-to-order cycle inform the board that AI drives revenue, not just automation.

2. Efficiency: What does it cost to achieve a specific KPI? Measuring costs per order, per contact, and per claim, and which other business metrics help the board understand the cost of performance relative to the investment. Understanding this allows them to see how efficiencies are impacting the bottom line and where improvement is needed

3. Risk: Understanding data exposure incidents, model misuse, audit exceptions, and loss expectancy is essential for CISOs and boards to reduce the downside and associated costs.

4. Capability: As AI continues to expand the workforce and understanding its capabilities today, and what will be required tomorrow, is essential to forecasting.

Different use cases may dictate variations on the above, but CIOs should focus on three to five metrics to avoid confusion.

The Outcome-First ROI Method

To shift from proof of concept to proof of performance, CIOs can employ a disciplined five-step ROI method designed for enterprise environments:

1. Start with a Value Thesis - Define the anticipated business impact in one sentence: “If we deploy [AI capability] in [workflow], we will improve [metric] by X%, unlocking $Y of value in Z months.” Conversely, consider what would have happened without AI, to avoid inflated results.

2. Establish Baselines - Build 3–6 months of operational baseline data, segmented by channel, issue type, and customer cohort. Use both direct (e.g., AHT, CSAT) and indirect indicators (agent satisfaction, turnover).

3. Prove It with Tests - Run A/B or holdout experiments: AI-assisted vs. non-assisted. Measure not just performance, but the reasons for AI-to-human handoffs and early failure modes.

4. Convert KPIs into Board-Ready Dollars - Use simple formulas CFOs trust. Only count capturable savings, such as avoided hires or reduced rework, not theoretical efficiencies.

5. Govern and Scale With Evidence - Scale only when uplift persists outside of pilots, guardrails are in place, and a capture plan ensures savings flow to the P&L. This repeatable method builds credibility and keeps AI investments grounded in financial reality.

With a scorecard that speaks their language and a disciplined ROI framework, CIOs can elevate AI from isolated initiatives to enterprise-wide transformation.

(JUN/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

Southeast Asia is enduring a dual climate emergency: extreme humid heat pushing the human body to its limits, and escalating wildfire haze threatening public health.

A Climate Central report reveals that parts of the region now experience at least six months of “dangerous” humid heat days annually, defined by a wet-bulb temperature of 25°C or higher—a threshold where the body’s cooling system becomes strained.

The duration of extreme weather has more than doubled globally, from an average of 10 days per year in the 1970s to 23 days today.

Meanwhile, 81,000 hectares of land have already burned in Indonesia this year amid scorching heat and a strengthening El Niño, with the government warning the situation will worsen through October.

Haze is drifting across the region, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei facing a high risk of severe haze in the coming months.

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🌍 The Global Context: Europe and the World Feel the Heat

A NASA Earth Observatory visualization, created by Lauren Dauphin using GEOS data from NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, confirms that this heatwave is no local anomaly.

Europe is in the grip of a severe heatwave, which scientists from World Weather Attribution have linked directly to climate change.

In France alone, the crisis has claimed 1,000 excess lives since 20 June—most of them elderly—and Health Minister Stephanie Rist has cautioned that the effects could persist for up to 10 more days.

Across 30 European countries, 45% of 854 cities have either broken or are on track to break their wet-bulb temperature records.

As Imperial College London researcher Theodore Keeping warned: “The science of how climate change is worsening heatwaves is settled.

Continued fossil-fuel emissions are directly responsible for the disruption people are experiencing this week.”

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📡 Why It’s on Our Radar

Southeast Asia’s vulnerability to this dual crisis is acute and deeply structural.

The Climate Central report makes clear that dangerous humid heat has shifted from an anomaly to a defining feature of daily life in parts of the region, pushing conditions closer to the limits of what the human body can safely endure. This is not a distant projection—it is the lived reality for millions.

The economic stakes are equally severe. The McKinsey Global Institute warns that Southeast Asia’s heavy reliance on outdoor labour makes it uniquely exposed to climate hazards.

Agriculture accounts for between 8 and 15 percent of GDP in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand—well above the global average of 4 percent. As heat intensifies, productivity in these sectors will suffer directly, with cascading effects on food supply chains and rural livelihoods.

Compounding the problem is a chronic underinvestment in adaptation. The region currently spends approximately US$12 billion annually on climate measures, including cooling systems, irrigation, stormwater networks, and early warning infrastructure.

To maintain even a basic standard of protection comparable to that of developed economies, that figure would need to nearly triple to US$37 billion per year.

☀️ The Heat Crisis: Bangkok and Beyond

Bangkok is set to become Southeast Asia’s hottest major city by 2050, according to an ASEAN Centre for Energy report. Key projections:

• 2025: Around 45 “extreme heat days” (>35°C)

• 2050: Projected to rise to 120 days annually—nearly three times as many

• Average daily maximum temperature to climb from 33.3°C in 2000 to 38.1°C by 2050

The urban heat island effect makes central Bangkok up to 3°C hotter than the greener outer areas.

Without proper adaptation, heat-related economic losses in Bangkok could reach 6% of the city's GDP by 2050.

🔥 The Fire Factor: Indonesia’s Burning Crisis

Indonesia’s dry season has expanded significantly, with rainfall now below normal across most of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, and Papua.

This is being driven by a strengthening El Niño, with BRIN researchers predicting a strong El Niño by July and a peak drought in August-September.

Key fire data:

• 81,000 hectares of land have burned so far this year, exceeding last year’s figures

• Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni warned the threat will grow “when later in July to October”

• 1,601 hotspots were detected across Indonesia as of early April, with numbers expected to rise

• 2,715 hotspots in Aceh province alone between January and May, with Nagan Raya seeing a 43-fold increase compared to the same period last year

The Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Djamari Chaniago, has ordered tighter coordination to prevent larger fires.

🏠 Why This Hits Home

Southeast Asian communities are facing real-time consequences:

• Drought and water shortages – At least three districts in Java are already experiencing clean water crises, affecting over 1,600 residents. Karawang, Bogor, and Cilacap are among the worst affected.

• Health emergencies – Thailand’s heat index reached a staggering 54°C in some districts, heightening the risk of heatstroke. Bangkok’s heat index peaked at 51.9°C.

• Economic strain – Households across the region face higher electricity bills as air conditioning becomes essential. Some 90% of Bangkok survey respondents said their energy bills rose by 10-50% during heatwaves. Low-income families in poorly ventilated housing are most at risk.

• Mental health impact – Lack of sleep, chronic fatigue, and the stress of living under constant heat and fire threat are taking a toll on quality of life.

⚡ What’s at Stake

🏁 The Bottom Line

Southeast Asia is at the sharp end of global climate change. The combination of naturally occurring El Niño and human-caused warming is pushing the region toward unprecedented heat and haze.

The Climate Central report’s conclusion is stark: dangerous humid heat has become a defining feature of daily life in parts of Southeast Asia, pushing the human body to its limits.

With the dry season still to peak and El Niño set to strengthen, the worst of the heat and fire season may lie ahead.

The window to mitigate the worst impacts is closing fast—and the choices made now will determine whether Southeast Asia can adapt or be overwhelmed by the climate crisis.

🔎 Need More Angles

• ABC News Heat stress is intensifying worldwide, scientists say

• Bangkok Post Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei face high risk of severe haze

• China Daily Bangkok set to be SE Asia’s hottest major city by 2050

• CNA High risk of severe haze for rest of 2026 amid El Nino, biofuel demand and Indonesia budget cuts: Report

• Edge, The Climate: Malaysia must prepare for hot and dry weather with impending El Niño

• Kompas Parts of Indonesia are Entering the Dry Season, and El Nino Will Soon Become Active

• New York Times, The Climate Change Fueling Europe’s Ferocious Heat Wave, Scientists Find

• Reuters Record heatwave disrupts Europe as France warns death toll to rise

• South China Morning Post Asia’s ‘dangerous’ humid heatwaves push human body to its limits

• South China Morning Post Malaysia warns of health risks from heatwave, 2 related deaths recorded this year

• Star, The Bangkok heat index reaches 51.9°C, heightening heatstroke risk

• Strait Times, The Demand for air-conditioner servicing, repairs heats up in Malaysia amid prolonged hot weather

• Tempo Indonesia’s Dry Season Expands, Heavy Rain Unlikely Through June 22

• Tempo Singapore Think Tank Warns of Severe Haze Risk in Southeast Asia

• VNExpress High humidity pushes heat index of world’s most-visited city into ‘danger’ zone

(ELS/QOB)

🎯 Main Takeaway

On 22 June 2026, Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Embassy of Switzerland, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officially launched the second phase of the Sustainable Landscape Programme Indonesia (SLPI). As Indonesia and Switzerland celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations, the continuation of this programme marks a milestone for efforts in strengthening sustainable landscape governance, rural community livelihoods, and resilient commodity value chains in Indonesia.

The achievements made during SLPI Phase I paved the way for SLPI Phase II. The continuation of this programme sends a clear signal that Indonesia is committed to protecting the landscapes that sustain its communities, which also opens job markets for many Indonesians in the present and for future generations.

With a commitment of CHF 1.6 million in funding, SLPI Phase II is set to run from 2026 to 2029, aiming to support five regions in Indonesia: Aceh, Riau, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan. The programme links local action with national development goals and strengthens collaboration between relevant stakeholders. Despite their widely different climates, Indonesia and Switzerland share a partnership through SLPI, showing that committed international cooperation can effectively protect crucial landscapes that millions of people rely upon for their livelihoods.

“As Switzerland and Indonesia celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations, we see SLPI as a strong example of how our partnership delivers practical results. Through Phase I, we demonstrated that sustainable landscape management can protect forests, improve livelihoods, and strengthen market opportunities. Through Phase II, we aim to sustain and scale these gains and embed them in the systems that will carry them forward.”
— H.E. Olivier Zehnder, Ambassador of Switzerland to Indonesia

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🌴 What is SLPI?

The Sustainable Landscape Programme Indonesia (SLPI) is a partnership between the Government of Indonesia, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) , and UNDP Indonesia, working together to support sustainable landscape management through multi-stakeholder collaboration across selected landscapes.

The first phase of SLPI was implemented from 2023 to 2025 and achieved significant progress in improving Indonesia’s sustainable landscape practices, including:

• 1.79 million hectares of forest conserved

• CHF 8.94 million in private co-investment

• Over 42 companies adopting sustainable practices

• Many workers reporting improved working conditions

The launch of Phase II signals that Phase I’s achievements were effective enough for the parties involved to move forward.

The transition to Phase II is important for Indonesia’s efforts to increase the sustainability of its landscapes, marked by changes in how SLPI approaches its supporting role. While Phase I proved that sustainable landscape management is effective and improves community wellbeing, Phase II aims to scale up and integrate these practices into the system.

“Phase II is our opportunity to showcase what sustainable landscape management looks like at the grassroots level, and to turn these lessons into institutional practice—formalising multi-stakeholder platforms within government and embedding them into our financing and planning systems so sustainable landscape management becomes the norm.”
— Dida Gardera, Senior Advisor to the Coordinating Minister for Connectivity and Service Sector, Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs

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⚠️ Why It’s Important

For commodity-producing nations such as Indonesia, addressing the diverse issues of land management is not a single-stakeholder issue. The challenge is not solely about rising global demand for commodities and reducing carbon emissions; it is also about safeguarding vital forests and respecting the culture and traditions of local communities. Often, this becomes a conflict between the government and local communities, as different interests and visions clash over the best solutions.

The big question is whether the three aspects of sustainability—economic, social, and ecological—can ever align.

Small and large stakeholders face their own dilemmas. Indigenous communities must choose between protecting their forests or pursuing economic benefits. Companies committed to ethical, sustainable sourcing may find that there are not enough certified products to continue production. At a larger scale, for the “green economy and development,” there are few platforms or mechanisms that coordinate institutional capacity, community connection, and company partnerships.

SLPI positions itself as the bridge to build a comprehensive system that integrates the economy, community, and ecology for all stakeholders.

“Sustainable development can only succeed when communities are part of the solution. Through SLPI, UNDP supports multi-stakeholder platforms that bring farmers, government institutions, and private sector actors together to share knowledge, align efforts, and work towards common goals that benefit both people and nature.”
— Aretha Aprilia, Head of Nature and Low Carbon Development, UNDP Indonesia

🌱 Transforming Landscape Governance

Sustainable landscape management should start with changing how landscapes are governed and managed. This new approach should embed an inclusive mindset that recognises the diverse stakeholders who shape and depend on the landscape.

• The Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme exemplifies this transformation by having communities’ land-use rules officially embedded in regulations. As a result, 52 villages across two districts passed regulations protecting forests, peatlands, and mangroves. What were once informal agreements within community memory now exist as written law.

• The Mosaik Initiative ensures that no voice is left behind. It creates opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups by connecting smallholders to certified markets. For a long time, farmer associations have been barred by limited financial resources and technical knowledge from gaining the certification needed to secure international production standards.

💪 Strengthening Systems

Within a nation, long-term sustainability depends on strong institutions and effective governance. It is important to have capable coordination, knowledge, and understanding for managing multi-stakeholder arrangements. SLPI has invested in building local capacities, fostering collaboration, and encouraging knowledge exchange.

• The SUSTAIN Kutim Initiative recognised the need for capable staff and partnered with UNDP to equip district government staff with essential facilitation and coordination skills. Staff learned to coordinate, prepare materials, facilitate sessions, and document activities without depending on external support. Thus, the skills remained within government institutions, enabling them to be applied to other challenges.

• Leuser Alas-Singkil River Basin (LASR) : Strengthening facilitation capacities can transform stakeholder engagement and collaboration. A notable example took place during a UNDP-supported workshop in Subulussalam in December 2024, where facilitators used “The Circle” technique to reduce hierarchy, encourage equal participation, and foster open dialogue, ultimately strengthening coordination and collaboration among stakeholders.

🌳 Sustaining impact

The long-term success of sustainable landscape initiatives depends on their ability to create lasting change beyond project timelines. Many initiatives deliver results while a project is running but struggle to maintain them once external support ends. SLPI shows that sustainable practices can become embedded within local systems and continue generating benefits long after external support ends.

In Aceh, community leaders and district governments worked together to secure legal recognition for customary forests. In Siak and Pelalawan, farmers, companies, and technology providers developed digital traceability systems to strengthen sustainable supply chains. Similar collective efforts in Seruyan and Kutai Timur enabled farmers to access certification, legal recognition, and financial resources.

Sustainable landscapes are built not only through short-term interventions but through locally driven collaboration that continues to deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits for years to come.

⏳ What was learned from SLPI I

Sustainable landscape management is not simply about bringing together skilled individuals and organisations. SLPI Phase I demonstrated that even when stakeholders share the same commitment, coordination remains a major challenge. Different actors often work with their own priorities, approaches, and timelines, making it difficult to align partners toward a common goal. Furthermore, what is planned at the policy level does not always translate smoothly into implementation on the ground, as local realities frequently create gaps between regulations and practice.

Another important lesson was that sustainable landscapes cannot be achieved by a single actor alone. Local communities, companies, and governments often hold different interests that must be continuously negotiated and aligned. At the same time, challenges related to infrastructure, facilitation, and capacity building can limit implementation efforts. Land-use conflicts further illustrate the complexity of landscape governance, showing that lasting solutions can only emerge through collaboration, continuous dialogue, and shared responsibility.

⭐ Beyond the Headlines

Sustainability is not just about surviving; nowadays, it has become a requirement to enter the global market. The world is changing. Technological advancement and social awareness are at their highest points. People realise that what they buy and use might not only impact themselves but also the future of humanity.

Partnerships and transactions may be cancelled as companies, governments, and consumers diligently work to track and verify the legal and sustainable origins of every commodity that passes through their doors. Beyond the headlines and market demands lies a much bigger challenge: ensuring that sustainability is not achieved at the expense of local communities, economic development, or environmental protection. The question is no longer whether sustainability matters, but how different stakeholders can work together to make it a reality.

🏠 The Regional Stakes

Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s most important tropical forests and commodity-producing landscapes. The region supplies a significant share of global commodities such as palm oil, rubber, timber, and coffee, making it a crucial player in both the global economy and climate agenda. However, rapid economic growth, expanding agricultural production, and increasing global demand continue to place enormous pressure on forests, biodiversity, and local communities across the region.

Despite differences in geography, political systems, and levels of development, countries across Southeast Asia face remarkably similar challenges. As sustainability standards become increasingly important in international markets, the ability of Southeast Asian countries to balance economic growth with environmental protection and social inclusion will shape the future of the region nationally and internationally.

🏁 The Bottom Line

The continuation of SLPI, facilitated by the Indonesian government, the Embassy of Switzerland, and UNDP, sends a clear signal that transitioning towards sustainable landscape management has become a priority for Indonesia as markets shift towards viewing sustainable practices not just favourably but as mandatory.

SLPI Phase II has come at a crucial moment, when Indonesia is seeking to strengthen areas such as food security, climate change resilience, sustainable commodity production, economic opportunities for rural communities, and the preservation of natural resources that are fundamental to Indonesia’s long-term prosperity.

(FRD/DEV/ELS)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

Solving global challenges takes more than good ideas—it requires collaboration.

That was the message behind the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) 2026, which brought together more than 5,000 participants from over 100 countries in Tangerang, Banten, from June 22 to 25.

Hosted by Times Higher Education (THE) in partnership with SEAMEO, Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), and Sinar Mas Land, the congress featured 500 speakers and 200 exhibitors, bringing together government officials, policymakers, university leaders, researchers, business leaders, and civil society.

Under the theme “Collective Action for a Sustainable Future,” participants exchanged ideas, forged new partnerships, and identified practical actions to tackle climate change, accelerate the clean energy transition, reduce social inequality, and build more sustainable cities.

📡 Why It’s On Our Radar?

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which officially came into effect on January 1, 2016.

The agenda outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a shared global blueprint to protect the planet and improve people’s lives by 2030. It calls on both developed and developing countries to work together through stronger international partnerships.

The goals are supported by 169 targets that focus on ending poverty, improving healthcare and education, reducing inequality, expanding access to affordable and clean energy, combating climate change, protecting forests and oceans, and promoting sustainable economic growth.

⚠️ However…

Achieving the SDGs targets faces several key challenges, including:

• Ongoing conflicts: The global economy remains uncertain amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts.

• Funding shortage: The SDGs need over USD 5 trillion in annual funding. placing a heavy burden on government budgets.

• Growing inequality: Global wealth remains highly concentrated. The richest 10% own nearly 75% of global wealth, while the top 1% alone controls at least 37%.

• Rising temperatures: The global average near-surface temperature reached 1.43°C in 2025, ranking among the warmest years in 176 years of recorded observations.

• Transition costs: The global energy transition cost reached USD 2.3 trillion in 2025, and will need an average of USD 2.9 trillion annually from 2026 to 2030.

• Limited coordination: Governments, universities, companies, and NGOs often work toward similar goals with limited coordination.

📉 As the Result…

These challenges are affecting the world in several ways, including:

• Global uncertainty: Ongoing regional conflicts disrupt global supply chains and investment, slowing economic growth, while forcing millions of people to flee their homes and increasing the risk of poverty.

• Middle-income trap: Around 89% of the world’s adults remain in the middle- and lower-income groups, together holding only 25% of global wealth, limiting economic mobility and widening inequality.

• Partnership push: Funding shortages are pushing governments to work more closely with businesses, investors, and international partners to achieve the SDGs and finance the clean energy transition.

• Agriculture & health risks: Rising temperatures and extreme drought threaten food production and increase the spread of climate-related diseases such as dengue.

• Fragmented efforts: Fragmentation can slow implementation and reduce impact.

💡 To Solve the Problem…

The congress launched the Sustainability Impact Network, a global coalition of more than 1,600 universities from 116 countries, alongside policymakers, business leaders, and NGOs working toward the UN SDGs.

By linking university research with policymaking, business innovation, and community action, the initiative aims to turn ideas into long-term, measurable solutions, strengthen global collaboration, mobilize funding, and accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The forum also launched the Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026, a global ranking that measures how universities contribute to the UN SDGs through their research, teaching, community engagement, and institutional stewardship.

🧘 In Addition...

The four-day congress also featured the One Health and Well-being Zone, highlighting the importance of human health, resilience, and well-being in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Hosted by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), the interactive space offered traditional Chinese massage, Tai Chi, Baduanjin, mindfulness, Karate, and the daily “Walk to Live Well” campaign led by senior university representatives.

The zone gave participants the opportunity to engage in practical wellness activities while exploring how research and innovation can improve public health and support sustainable development.

📈 Even More…

The Asia-Pacific Sustainable Business Summit was also launched during the congress, bringing together more than 1,000 senior leaders from 650 companies and brands. The summit focused on developing long-term practical solutions and sustainable business models to support low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient economies across the Asia-Pacific.

The event also saw the signing of several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and partnerships on green city development and sustainable urban planning. The agreements involved C40 Cities, the Jakarta provincial government, and international partners, strengthening collaboration to build more sustainable and climate-resilient cities.

🏡 Why This Hits Home?

ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 in November 2015 and renewed it with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 in May 2025. The long-term roadmap aligns with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and strengthens the region’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The vision is built on five pillars: Political-Security, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Connectivity, and Institutional Strengthening. Together, they aim to improve living standards, promote peace and sustainable development, deepen regional integration, and strengthen ASEAN’s centrality, connectivity, and resilience.

Indonesia has also aligned its development agenda with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the National Medium-Term Development Plan (2025–2029) and the National Long-Term Development Plan (2025–2045).

The roadmap aims to raise income per capita, boost competitiveness, reduce poverty, inequality, and greenhouse gas emissions, while improving people’s wellbeing, expand access to education, jobs, and technology, fostering innovation, strengthening Indonesia’s global role, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.

🌍 The Regional Stake

Government officials, policymakers, business leaders, academics, and civil society across Southeast Asia are encouraged to contribute by sharing ideas, research, data, insights, and practical solutions. Their input can help strengthen policies, improve implementation, and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Stakeholders from outside Southeast Asia are also welcome to join through partnerships and cross-border collaboration. Together, they can strengthen education, skills development, build a future-ready workforce, advance sustainable development, promote shared prosperity, and support the transition to a net-zero economy.

📌 The Bottom Line

The GSDC is not just a forum where leaders exchange ideas. It is a foundation for turning research into policy, partnerships into investment, and shared ambitions into measurable action.

As global challenges become more complex, solving them requires governments, universities, businesses, and communities to work together with a common purpose to create lasting global impact.

The congress offers optimism that, despite conflict, inequality, and climate risks, collective action can still accelerate progress toward the SDGs and build a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future for Southeast Asia and beyond.

🔍 Need More Angles?

ASEAN Secretariat ASEAN Community Vision 2045

Bappenas RPJPN 2025-2045

BloombergNEF Energy Transition Investment Trends

Global Sustainable Development Congress Collective action for a sustainable future

United Nations The Sustainable Development Agenda

United Nations Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

UN Statistics The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025

UN Trade and Development The costs of achieving the SDGs: About

World Bank March 2026 Global Poverty update from the World Bank: New data and updated poverty numbers

World Inequality Report Global Economic Inequality

World Inequality Report World Inequality Report 2026

World Meteorological Organization State of the Global Climate 2025

(NGO/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

On 24 June 2026, diplomats, policymakers, and academics gathered in Jakarta for the China-Indonesia Think Tank and Media Forum, co-hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), the Chinese Embassy, and the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA). Key speakers included Vice Minister Prof. Stella Christie and Ambassador Wang Lutong, who emphasised a strategic shift toward human capital development as the next pillar of bilateral cooperation.

To bridge the gap between large-scale investment and domestic capability, Indonesia is pursuing industry-matched vocational education and the “Sekolah Garuda” talent pipeline—with China offering 50 scholarships to top Indonesian students at elite universities, including Tsinghua.

Currently, 1,146 active academic agreements exist between Indonesian and Chinese institutions, providing a solid foundation for sustainable growth.

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📡 Why It’s on Our Radar

This forum signals a fundamental shift in the China-Indonesia relationship—moving beyond infrastructure and raw materials toward human capital development, technology transfer, and shared regional governance. For Southeast Asia, the partnership offers a potential blueprint for South-South cooperation, balancing economic growth with ASEAN Centrality.

The emphasis on vocational education aligned with industrial needs and direct scholarship pathways reflects Indonesia’s push for economic sovereignty. Meanwhile, media cooperation and party-to-party dialogue suggest an expanding relationship that touches politics, security, and information flows—with implications for the broader region.

As Indonesia navigates great power competition, how it manages this partnership will influence ASEAN’s collective posture toward China. The forum’s outcomes will likely shape investment patterns, educational exchanges, and diplomatic alignment across Southeast Asia in the coming years.

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💸 The Evolution of Economic Cooperation

While the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway remains the pioneer of China-Indonesia relations, speakers emphasised that the economic relationship must evolve. Over the past two years, cooperation has expanded beyond raw mineral processing into energy transition (green economy), food security, maritime development, and digital technology.

However, Indonesian delegates raised persistent friction over value chains. While Chinese commerce has traditionally focused on raw imports, Indonesia is strongly advocating for a partnership of equals.

Indonesia expects future investments to prioritise local manufacturing and protect its economic sovereignty. To achieve a win-win solution, both sides agreed to lean into massive university-industry partnerships, taking a page out of China’s book, where tech and innovation hubs now drive 13.4% of its GDP.

🤝 Political and Geopolitical Alignment

The forum looked back at a long history of connection, pointing to the ancient Maritime Silk Road, the Spice Routes, and Admiral Zheng He’s historic expeditions. Because both nations share the history of overthrowing colonial rule, they have mutual respect for each other’s independence. Speakers noted that their shared values resemble Indonesia’s own motto: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika—Unity in Diversity.

Key agreements include:

• Party-to-Party Dialogue: The Communist Party of China (CPC) maintains active institutional dialogue mechanisms with major Indonesian political parties, including PDIP and Gerindra. These dialogues are strictly oriented toward “public service”—focusing on poverty reduction and anti-corruption strategies.

• Comprehensive Security: Cooperation has matured to include joint efforts in ecological preservation, green energy development, traditional military security (defense equipment/alutsista), and anti-terrorism.

• Global South Leadership: The partnership aims to serve as a blueprint for South-South cooperation, actively consolidating ASEAN Centrality amid shifting regional dynamics.

📰 Media Cooperation: Beyond News Coverage

Media cooperation is central to the evolving partnership. Chinese Ambassador Wang Lutong described the media as a “communication bridge” between societies, essential for reducing misunderstandings and building trust. This can be achieved through journalist exchanges, content collaboration, fact-checking, and institutional partnerships.

Veteran journalist Bambang Harymurti added that the dominance of Western narratives in international news is weakening, creating space for Asian media to present regional perspectives. The goal is not to replace one narrative with another but to foster a greater diversity of accurate, fact-based reporting.

The expansion of cooperation between Indonesian and Chinese media organisations through joint coverage projects, journalist training, and regular dialogues has become essential in line with deepening bilateral ties.

🤝 ASEAN Centrality and Regional Stability

Stronger Indonesia-China ties should reinforce ASEAN’s centrality, not undermine it. ASEAN remains the main platform for dialogue and conflict management in the Indo-Pacific, with Indonesia playing a key role in maintaining this strategic position.

China supports ASEAN’s central role and views Indonesia as a vital partner for peace, stability, and inclusive development. Bilateral cooperation must align with broader regional priorities: economic resilience, connectivity, green development, and maritime cooperation.

Rather than framing the partnership through great power competition, both sides should focus on collaboration that benefits the entire region and creates shared opportunities for all ASEAN member states.

🏡 Why This Hits Home

Indonesia’s relationship with China is entering a new phase. Infrastructure projects marked the first stage; future cooperation will focus on education, technology, and talent development. For Indonesia, the challenge is to ensure this partnership builds long-term domestic capability, not just attracts investment.

As Southeast Asia’s geopolitical landscape grows more complex, Indonesia can leverage its strategic position to strengthen ASEAN Centrality while deepening ties with key partners. Balancing economic growth with regional stability will remain a top priority.

🔮 The Bottom Line

The 2026 forum marks a fundamental shift in the bilateral relationship—away from a reliance on hard infrastructure and raw material exports toward human capital, high-tech manufacturing, and shared regional governance.

Indonesia’s core objective is to convert Chinese investment and academic opportunities into lasting domestic capability and economic sovereignty. The challenge is to ensure this alliance strengthens, rather than compromises, ASEAN stability.

(AKO/DHM/ELS)

Southeast Asia has always had a knack for holding on to its roots 🌳. Amid gleaming skyscrapers 🏙️, buzzing cafés ☕, and the fast pace of modern life, the region’s most fascinating stories can often be found off the mainland where entire communities live, work, and raise families on the water 💧.

🌊 The Main Takeaway

Imagine trading asphalt for waterways, where the morning commute involves a wooden boat 🛶 and your front porch hovers directly over the tide. Long before concrete dominated the skyline, communities across Southeast Asia mastered the art of living on rivers, lakes, and the sea. These floating villages aren’t just relics of the past; they are breathing, dynamic neighborhoods that invite you to experience a rhythm of life dictated by nature, not traffic 🛑.

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👀 Why It's on Our Radar

We often measure a region's progress by its urban development 🏗️, but its soul is anchored in its heritage ⚓. These water-bound communities are masterclasses in resilience, holding the line against rapid globalization 🌍. They actively preserve centuries-old customs from indigenous celestial navigation ✨ and specialized fishing techniques 🎣 to adaptive stilt-house architecture 🛖. By maintaining these practices, they serve as a living archive of Southeast Asia’s deep maritime history.

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🌏 What's at Stake

A delicate equilibrium is under threat ⚖️. Rising seasonal waters 🌧️, encroaching urban development, and the double-edged sword of mass tourism 🧳 place immense pressure on these communities. Protecting these villages means safeguarding indigenous knowledge, sustainable ecosystems 🌿, and the distinct identities of the people who call the water home.

From Indonesia’s deep-sea divers to Cambodia's migrating lake towns, here are the Southeast Asia's most remarkable water-bound settlements where this extraordinary way of life endures:

Bajo Mola, Indonesia 🇮🇩

Located in Wakatobi, Mola Village is home to the Bajo people (the "Sea Gypsies") ⛵. Rather than just fishing, the Bajo possess legendary maritime skills, including celestial navigation 🌌 and world-class freediving abilities 🤿 passed down through lineages. Their stilt houses offer a rare window into one of the world's most enduring ocean-bound cultures.

Kampong Ayer, Brunei Darussalam 🇧🇳

Often called the "Venice of the East," this sprawling settlement has stood along the Brunei River for over a millennium ⏳. What makes Kampong Ayer fascinating is its contrast: traditional wooden walkways connect centuries-old stilt homes 🛖 that are fully equipped with Wi-Fi 📶, air conditioning, modern health clinics 🏥, and schools.

Kampong Phlouk, Cambodia 🇰🇭

Set on the edge of Tonlé Sap Lake, Kompong Phluk is defined by its towering stilts, built to survive dramatic seasonal floods that can raise water levels up to 10 meters 🌊. During the wet season 🌧️, the streets disappear completely, transforming the surrounding mangrove forests 🌳 into a surreal, navigable waterway.

Koh Panyee, Thailand 🇹🇭

Built over the sheltered waters of Phang Nga Bay, this village was founded two centuries ago by three Javanese Muslim fishing families 🛶. Koh Panyee is a testament to human ingenuity best exemplified by its famous floating football pitch ⚽, built by local children from scraps of wood and fishing rafts, operating alongside their thriving fishing and tourism industries 🐟.

Chong Kneas, Cambodia 🇰🇭

Floating houses in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia (Photo: LBM1948/commons.wikimedia.org) Unlike the stilt homes of Kampong Phlouk, Chong Kneas is entirely buoyant ⚓. This self-sustaining community of Cambodian and ethnic Vietnamese families literally moves with the changing water levels of Tonlé Sap Lake 🔄. Homes, schools 🏫, and even a floating basketball court 🏀 are towed to different locations depending on the season, making the lake the fluid heart of their economy.

✨ Beyond the Headlines

These communities are not frozen in time; they are actively adapting to a changing world while keeping their heritage intact 🚀. Visiting them isn’t just about snapping a photo of a wooden boat 📸 it’s about witnessing the incredible adaptability of human life and a way of existing that perfectly mirrors the ebb and flow of nature 🌊.

Which floating village would you love to visit first? Let us know your top pick!

(VIL/ARS)

🍽️ Opening

The best way to experience a country’s culture is by tasting it.

😄 Now, if you’re thinking of doing something wild, like licking the “Welcome to Singapore” sign 🇸🇬 or drinking the water from the 🦁 Merlion statue, please don’t.

🤭 Let’s keep those intrusive thoughts to ourselves.

🍜 Because the culture we’re going to taste today is, of course, food.

⭐ And especially when that food comes with a Michelin star hanging on the wall, people flock to it.

🌏✨ And Southeast Asia has plenty of those stars shining.

🎙️ Let’s talk about it.

👋 Hello and welcome to The Southeast Asia Desk Weekly Dispatch Podcast. I’m Akasha Viandri.

🧭🌏 This is where we slow down the headlines and make sense of the stories shaping Southeast Asia.

⭐ Who’s Michelin, Anyway?

🍽️ A wise man once said,

😄 And that wise man... is me.

But don’t you agree?

⭐ Especially when a restaurant is recognized by the Michelin Guide, it just hits differently.

🤔 Now, some of you might be wondering...

What exactly is the Michelin Guide?

⭐ Is it the same thing as a Michelin Star?

🛞 Who is Michelin, anyway?

🇫🇷 Well, the Michelin Guide is a pocket-sized guidebook first published over a century ago by the French tyre company Michelin, founded by brothers André and Édouard Michelin.

💡 So... that basically answers both the “what” and the “who” of Michelin.

❓ But that raises another question.

How did a tyre company create one of the most prestigious recognitions in the culinary world?

📖 Well... here’s the story.

🚗 The Michelin Guide was created to encourage people to drive more.

Back then, driving wasn’t nearly as convenient as it is today.

🛣️ Road networks were limited, ⛽ petrol stations were scarce, and long-distance travel required a lot more planning.

🗺️ So the guide included practical information for motorists, from maps and fuel stations to tyre repairs.

🛞 The more people drove, the faster their tyres wore out.

💰 Which meant they needed to buy new ones.

🧠 A pretty smart business strategy, if you ask me.

🍴 Later, the Michelin Guide added restaurant recommendations and began charging for the guidebook after the brothers discovered that people were using the free copies to prop up workbenches in garages.

😂 Apparently, people only value what they pay for.

📈 As the guide became more influential, especially its restaurant section...

⭐ Then, in 1926, Michelin introduced what we now know as the Michelin Star, giving restaurants a star rating based on specific criteria.

🏆 Who would’ve thought that today, a Michelin Star is the Oscar of the culinary world?

📱 Now, the Michelin Guide is no longer just a pocket-sized book.

🌐 It’s available online, featuring a carefully curated selection of restaurants recommended by Michelin Guide’s inspectors.

⚠️ But here’s the thing.

❌ Not every restaurant listed in the Michelin Guide receives a Michelin Star.

🕵️ To earn one, restaurants are evaluated by anonymous inspectors.

Whether they’re posing as a regular customer grabbing lunch or someone on a business trip.

😅 Well, I guess it depends on the mood.

💳 And yes, they pay their own bills.

🤫 Once the inspectors leave the table, only they and the universe know the result.

🌍 Today, Michelin’s recognition extends far beyond fine dining.

🍜 The Bib Gourmand celebrates restaurants that serve great food at great value.

🛎️ The Michelin Key recognizes exceptional hotels.

🏅 The Michelin Special Awards celebrate outstanding individuals in the hospitality industry.

🍇 And starting in 2026, Michelin will introduce Michelin Grape, recognizing not only outstanding vineyards, but also the people behind them.

🍜 Michelin Recognition in Southeast Asia

🌏 Now let’s talk about Michelin recognition in Southeast Asia.

⭐ Five countries in the region currently have Michelin Stars:
🇲🇾 Malaysia,
🇹🇭 Thailand,
🇸🇬 Singapore,
🇵🇭 the Philippines, and
🇻🇳 Vietnam.

🏆 And among them, 🇹🇭 Thailand and 🇸🇬 Singapore are leading the way.

🍜 But Southeast Asia is unique.

✨ Michelin recognition here isn’t reserved only for fine dining and high-end gastronomy.

🥢 It also celebrates something much more familiar: street food.

❤️ Southeast Asia proves that some of the world’s best food doesn’t always come with white tablecloths.

🥇 Among those five countries, 🇸🇬 Singapore has the highest number of Michelin-recognized street food stalls.

🏅 UNESCO has even recognized Singapore’s Hawker Culture as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

🥭 Next comes 🇹🇭 Thailand.

😋 Well... who can resist mango sticky rice?

🍛 Then there’s 🇲🇾 Malaysia.

🍲 And of course, 🇻🇳 Vietnam.

🍜 You’ve heard of pho, right?

✨ That’s one of the country’s most iconic street foods.

💸 Why Michelin Isn’t Everywhere

❓ But six Southeast Asian countries are still missing from the list:
🇮🇩 Indonesia,
🇰🇭 Cambodia,
🇱🇦 Laos,
🇲🇲 Myanmar,
🇧🇳 Brunei, and
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste.

🤔 Which is surprising.

🍽️ Because the food is certainly amazing.

🇮🇩 Take Indonesia, for example.

🥇 CNN once named rendang the World’s Most Delicious Food.

📈 And the potential?

💰 In 2020 alone, the country’s culinary sector contributed around IDR 455 trillion, or roughly 41 percent of the country’s creative economy GDP.

🚪 So, shouldn’t Michelin be knocking on our door?

👋 Turns out, we’re the ones who have to knock first.

💡 Well, there are many reasons. But let’s focus on one.

💵 The multi-million-dollar entry ticket.

🤔 You might think Michelin simply decides to show up in a country.

🙅 Not exactly.

🤝 For Michelin to enter a country, governments or private companies need to partner with the Michelin Guide first.

🇹🇭 For example, Thailand’s Tourism Authority has extended its partnership with the Michelin Guide through 2026.

🇻🇳 Vietnam, meanwhile, welcomed the Michelin Guide in 2023 with the private company Sun Group as its destination partner.

🙋 “But wait,” you might ask.

💬 “I thought the inspectors paid for their own meals?”

✅ They do.

💼 But countries still pay for the partnership itself.

🇦🇺 Take Australia’s debut, for example.

🆕 This year, the South Australian Government paid an undisclosed amount to bring Michelin to the state for the very first time.

💸 Believe me, that partnership isn’t cheap.

💰 It can cost anywhere between US$750,000 and US$1.5 million.

🎙️ Closing

🤔 So maybe...

Just maybe...

🧮 Some countries are still doing the math.

Is the Michelin Guide worth the investment?

⭐ Or is it simply a matter of prestige?

💭 But whatever the answer is...

🍽️ Good food is still good food.

Whether it comes with a Michelin Star ⭐

🥢 or from a humble street-side stall that’s been serving the same recipe for generations.

❤️ Because at the end of the day, what makes a meal memorable isn’t just the stars on the wall.

👨‍🍳👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 It’s the story, the people, and the culture behind every bite.

🎙️ I’m Akasha Viandri, and this has been The Southeast Asia Desk Weekly Dispatch Podcast, where we slow down the noise and follow the region’s compass. 🧭🌏

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📬 If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our newsletter at thesoutheastasiadesk.com, and join us again next weekend for stories to linger over, one weekend at a time. ✨

🎯 The Main Takeaway

Southeast Asia’s music scene is undergoing a hyper-localized transformation. Instead of merely mimicking Western pop trends, the region’s biggest names are leaning heavily into distinct national identities, regional inside jokes, and massive community milestones to capture streaming charts this mid-year.

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🔍 Why It’s on Our Radar

June 2026 has delivered an unprecedented concentration of high-profile drops across the region. From global football anthems to 30-year anniversary track dropouts, Southeast Asian artists are leveraging cultural authenticity as a superpower, bypassing traditional global pop formulas to build deeply loyal, localized fanbases.

⚖️ What’s at Stake

The financial viability of local music ecosystems. As streaming algorithms become increasingly crowded, regional artists who fail to lean into hyper-local narratives risk being buried by global Western or K-pop standard giants. Authenticity isn’t just a creative choice; it’s the primary survival strategy.

🌏 The Big Picture: June 2026 Breakdown

🇮🇩 Indonesia: Project Pop — “Selamat Birthday”

• Release Date: 17 June 2026

• Digital Engagement: The official music video gathered over 43,000 views within its first five days on YouTube, rapidly climbing local holiday and birthday playlist placements.

• The Background: Written by Yosi Mokalu and produced by Irwan Simanjuntak, this feel-good track was dropped exactly on the day the legendary comedy-pop group turned 30 years old. Packed with lighthearted, everyday slang and multilingual birthday wishes (including Mandarin and Korean phrases), it acts as both a self-celebration of their survival in the industry and a brand-new birthday anthem for the public.

🇲🇾 Malaysia: YoungCaptain (Yang Lang) — “Myvi”

• Release Date: 2 June 2026

• Digital Engagement: The official music video generated an immediate cultural splash, racking up over 250,000 views on YouTube within weeks as a massive cross-strait hit.

• The Background: In an incredible cross-cultural moment, the acclaimed Mandopop singer-songwriter from China bridges a 4,650-kilometer long-distance gap to dedicate an entire single to his Malaysian fanbase. The track serves as a sonic journey from China’s cold climate straight into tropical Malaysia, chronicling the emotional longing of long-distance romance. By cleverly blending classic “emo” Mandopop chord progressions with explicit Malaysian imagery—using the nation’s iconic Perodua Myvi as a romantic vessel to “race” toward a loved one and whispering the affectionate Malay nickname “Sayang,” the song became an instant viral hit for turning a cross-strait long-distance relationship into a deeply relatable local anthem.

🇸🇬 Singapore: Gareth Fernandez & Dru Chen — “Sparkle” (NDP 2026)

• Release Date: Early June 2026

• Digital Engagement: As part of the Go Beyond NDP multi-track video rollout, the official music video crossed 18,000 views shortly after landing on the NDPeeps channel, serving as a key anchor for Singapore’s mid-year state playlist.

• The Background: Co-written by Gareth Fernandez, Dru Chen, Bang Wenfu, and Sikai Goh, this infectious, high-energy singalong anthem was rolled out as a centerpiece for Singapore’s 2026 National Day Parade album. Built with live horns, grooving basslines, and soulful vocals, the track is explicitly designed to celebrate individual identity and collective resilience leading up to the nation’s August celebrations.

🇵🇭 Philippines: MICO — “do it all again”

• Release Date: 26 June 2026

• Digital Engagement: Positioned as the final heavy-hitting focus track before his debut album drops at the end of the month, the song is tracking high across pre-saves, heavily driven by multi-platform TikTok and Discord hype. The official music video crossed 65,000 views since this article is released.

• The Background: Dropping as a key focus track from his highly anticipated debut full-length studio album When the lights turn on, the viral Filipino-Canadian alt-pop/pop-punk trailblazer delivers an emotionally raw indie-pop anthem. Cultivated heavily through a dedicated organic digital community, the song explores themes of cyclical heartbreak and resilience just ahead of his late 2026 international tour stops.

🇹🇭 Thailand: LISA — “Goals” (OST FIFA World Cup 2026)

• Release Date: 12 June 2026

• Digital Engagement: As a main global tournament anthem, the track is pulling millions of multi-platform streams globally, dominating regional music trending charts across Thailand, Brazil, and Nigeria simultaneously. The official music video crossed 22 million views since this article is released.

• The Background: The Thai global superstar made history by releasing this high-octane single to coincide with her performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles. Featuring a powerhouse cross-cultural pairing with Brazilian icon Anitta and Nigerian artist Rema, the global sports anthem infuses high-energy international pop beats with LISA’s unmistakable signature Thai flair, immediately dominating regional streaming spaces.

  ---

🔊 Why This Hits Home

For the modern Southeast Asian listener, music is no longer just background noise; it is a badge of identity. Hearing a global icon like LISA dominate a World Cup stage, or singing along to a local inside joke about a Perodua Myvi car, provides a visceral sense of cultural representation that foreign media simply cannot replicate.

📈 The Regional Stakes

This sonic boom is reshaping the economic landscape of Southeast Asian entertainment. Major labels are pivoting funding away from generic English-language market copycats and doubling down on vernacular pop (T-Pop, OPM, Indo-Pop). The capability to convert hyper-local cultural nuances into digital streaming revenue is now the gold standard for regional entertainment success.

🏁 The Bottom Line

Southeast Asia is no longer just a consumption market for global pop; it is actively exporting its own localized pop blueprint. By writing songs for their own communities first, these artists are proving that the quickest way to capture the region’s attention is to look right into its mirror.

This festive, high-energy NDP 2026 “Sparkle” Music Video directly highlights how Singaporean artists Gareth Fernandez and Dru Chen are leading the charge in national collaborative storytelling this month.

(NZL/ VBD/ ELS)

Your curated wrap-up from The Southeast Asia Desk.

✍️ Editorial Note

Hello and welcome back,

Every week brings a different side of Southeast Asia into focus. Sometimes it’s politics, sometimes it’s culture. This week, it’s about resilience.

As currencies fluctuate, universities climb global rankings, athletes reach international stages, and new partnerships take shape, one thing remains constant: Southeast Asia continues to adapt with determination and ambition.

Thank you for making us part of your week. We hope this edition helps you stay informed while appreciating the many stories unfolding across our region.

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💱 Rupiah falls past Rp18,000 per U.S. dollar

Indonesia’s rupiah has slipped past Rp18,000 per U.S. dollar, raising fresh concerns about inflation, imports, and consumer purchasing power. The depreciation comes amid continued global economic uncertainty and renewed pressure on emerging market currencies.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/rupiah-falls-past-18000-dollar-indonesia-economy

🤝 Russia expands ASEAN partnership through Indonesia

Russia is strengthening its engagement with Southeast Asia by deepening cooperation with Indonesia in areas ranging from education and energy to trade and strategic dialogue. The initiative reflects Jakarta’s growing importance as Moscow seeks stronger ties with ASEAN.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/russia-expands-asean-partnership-through-indonesia

🎓 QS World University Rankings 2027: Southeast Asia climbs higher

Universities across Southeast Asia recorded notable progress in the latest QS World University Rankings, reflecting growing investments in research, international collaboration, and academic excellence. The results reinforce the region’s expanding role in global higher education.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/qs-world-university-rankings-2027-southeast-asia

📰 UNESCO sounds the alarm on children’s online parenting

UNESCO held a global press briefing to address the escalating challenges families face in the digital age, launching a new practical guide designed to help parents navigate their children's online lives.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/unesco-online-press-briefing-growing

🏀 Asian University Basketball League tips off

The inaugural Asian University Basketball League (AUBL) brings together leading universities from across Asia and Oceania, creating new opportunities for student-athletes while strengthening regional educational and sporting exchanges.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/aubl-2026-asian-university-basketball-philippines-australia

⚽ Five ASEAN-based players reach football’s biggest stage

Five footballers currently playing in ASEAN leagues have earned spots at the FIFA World Cup, highlighting the steady improvement of Southeast Asia’s domestic competitions and player development systems.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/5-asean-based-player-at-the-world-cup

☕ Weekend Brew

🏸 Indonesia’s racquet sports boom continues

Badminton may remain king, but tennis, pickleball, padel, and table tennis are all experiencing remarkable growth across Indonesia. From neighborhood courts to international tournaments, racquet sports are bringing new communities together and inspiring the next generation of athletes.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/s2620-indonesias-racquet-sports-boom

🌶️ Southeast Asia’s sharpest tongues

Southeast Asia’s comedy circuit is having a major moment. Driven by political friction, cultural quirks, and global digital appetites, local comics are filling arenas and exporting distinct, unvarnished regional humour to the West.

Read more:
https://www.thesoutheastasiadesk.com/p/southeast-asias-sharpest-tongues

✍️ Closing note

This week’s stories remind us that progress is rarely linear. Economic challenges may test resilience, but they also reveal determination. Universities continue to rise, athletes continue to dream bigger, and regional partnerships continue to evolve.

At The Southeast Asia Desk, we remain committed to telling these stories with context, balance, and curiosity.

Thank you for reading and supporting independent journalism dedicated to Southeast Asia.

Until next week, take care, stay curious, and keep looking beyond the headlines.

✨ Stories to linger over, one week at a time.

(QOB/ELS)

How do we come to recognize the face of a country?

Perhaps through the expressions of its political leaders, its major public policies, its cuisine, or the amount of attention it receives in international news.

Yet national identity is also communicated through something far more ordinary: the images of cities and landmarks reproduced in postcards, advertisements, films, travel photographs, and even the magnets attached to our refrigerators.

A refrigerator in a Southeast Asian home may display Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, Bangkok’s Grand Palace, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers, Jakarta’s National Monument, or the old streets of Hanoi.

These images appear simple, but they perform an important representational function. They transform selected urban spaces into visual shorthand for entire countries.

Singapore’s skyline comes to represent Singapore. The Petronas Twin Towers stand in for Malaysia. The Grand Palace evokes Thailand, while Merlion Park, Marina Bay, and Changi Airport help reproduce an image of Singapore as orderly, connected, and technologically advanced.

Through repetition, these associations become naturalized. We often accept them without asking what these landmarks represent, whose identities they include or exclude, and how urban images shape understandings of the nation itself.

This question is especially important in Southeast Asia, where cities have become central to economic transformation, national development, tourism, diplomacy, and cultural representation.

The region’s major cities are not merely administrative capitals or population centers. They are increasingly important sites through which Southeast Asian states interact with global markets, institutions, corporations, media industries, and transnational communities.

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Bringing Cities into International Relations

International Relations scholarship has traditionally treated sovereign states as the principal units of world politics. Cities have often appeared only as the locations where governments, organizations, and businesses operate.

Simon Curtis argues, however, that International Relations scholars have been slow to appreciate the rise of global cities: cities whose influence, networks, and economic activities extend across national boundaries. Reconsidering the historical relationship between cities and states can therefore help illuminate changes in the international system's organization (Curtis, 2010).

This perspective is particularly relevant to Southeast Asia. Singapore is simultaneously a city-state, a global financial center, a logistical hub, and a diplomatic actor. Jakarta functions not only as Indonesia’s political and economic center but also as the institutional center of ASEAN. Bangkok is embedded in regional tourism, manufacturing, aviation, healthcare, and creative industries. Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi similarly connect national economies to wider circuits of finance, production, migration, technology, and culture.

These cities provide the physical and institutional infrastructure through which globalization operates.

Global capital does not circulate in an entirely placeless environment. It moves through ports, airports, financial districts, industrial estates, data centers, transportation networks, corporate offices, and residential enclaves. Globalization, therefore, materializes in particular urban sites.

Saskia Sassen similarly cautions against treating the global economy as an abstract system sustained solely by transnational corporations and communication technologies. She argues that analyses of economic globalization must consider the places and labor processes through which the global economy is produced and managed (Sassen, 2005).

Cities are crucial because they concentrate financial services, information, specialized labor, corporate headquarters, transportation facilities, and political institutions. They generate what might be described as urban centrality: the capacity to coordinate activities and connect different geographical scales.

In Southeast Asia, this centrality is unevenly distributed. Singapore has become a command center for regional finance and corporate management. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur operate as major transport and service hubs. Jakarta and Manila command enormous domestic markets, while Ho Chi Minh City has become deeply integrated into global manufacturing and investment networks.

These cities remain embedded in their respective national economies, but their global connections may increasingly distinguish them from surrounding regions. A financial professional in Singapore, a technology entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City, or a corporate executive in Jakarta may participate in networks that connect them more intensively to other global cities than to rural and peripheral areas within their own countries.

Sassen describes global cities as terrains in which multiple processes of globalization take concrete form (Sassen, 1991, 2005). From this perspective, globalization in Southeast Asia is not only a relationship between ASEAN member states and the wider international economy. It is also produced through networks connecting Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City with cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Dubai, London, and New York.

Cities as Emerging Diplomatic Actors

The international importance of cities extends beyond economic activity. Large cities and metropolitan governments are increasingly involved in diplomacy, environmental cooperation, investment promotion, cultural exchange, and transnational policy networks.

Pigman observes that urban governments increasingly conduct activities traditionally associated with diplomacy, including establishing representative offices, joining international networks, and arranging meetings between mayors and foreign counterparts (Pigman, 2010). Cities are particularly active in policy areas where national responses are limited or where problems require cooperation among local authorities.

Southeast Asian cities face many such problems. Flooding, air pollution, traffic congestion, waste management, housing shortages, climate vulnerability, and public-health emergencies are simultaneously local and transnational. Jakarta’s experiences with land subsidence and flooding, Bangkok’s exposure to rising sea levels, Singapore’s experiments with urban sustainability, and Manila’s disaster-management challenges are relevant to cities across and beyond the region.

City networks can allow urban governments to exchange knowledge without waiting for comprehensive agreements between national governments. Participation in international climate and urban-governance networks also enables mayors and municipal authorities to increase their international visibility.

Nevertheless, the growing international role of cities does not necessarily mean that they will replace states. Curtis argues that changes in cities and states should be understood as part of the same process of rescaling relations among local, national, regional, and global spaces (Curtis, 2010).

This is particularly evident in Southeast Asia, where central governments continue to exercise substantial control over urban development, infrastructure, investment, and diplomatic relations. The construction of new capitals and administrative centers—including Indonesia’s Nusantara, Malaysia’s Putrajaya, and Myanmar’s Naypyidaw—demonstrates that states remain deeply involved in producing urban space.

The relationship is therefore not simply one of competition between cities and states. Cities can reinforce national development strategies, represent countries internationally, and provide governments with platforms for attracting investment. At the same time, their growing economic importance may generate tensions concerning authority, inequality, resources, and political representation.

The Uneven Geography of Southeast Asian Globalization

The rise of global cities also raises questions about inequality within and between cities.

Global-city development is highly selective. Investment tends to concentrate in business districts, high-end residential areas, transport corridors, tourist zones, and technology clusters. Meanwhile, informal settlements, peripheral municipalities, rural communities, and less-connected regions may receive fewer benefits.

The result is an uneven urban geography. A city may simultaneously contain internationally connected financial districts and communities without secure housing, adequate sanitation, or reliable public transportation. The same skyline that communicates prosperity may obscure the labor and displacement that made its construction possible.

This contradiction is visible across Southeast Asia. Singapore’s carefully managed urban environment differs markedly from the fragmented metropolitan expansion of Jakarta or Manila. Bangkok combines globally oriented commercial districts with substantial spatial inequality. Kuala Lumpur’s iconic skyline exists alongside wider debates about mobility, affordability, and migrant labor. Ho Chi Minh City’s integration into global investment networks has transformed its physical landscape, but it has also intensified pressures on land, housing, and existing communities.

The global-city framework must therefore be applied carefully. Southeast Asian cities should not be measured solely by how closely they resemble London, New York, or Tokyo. Their trajectories are shaped by colonial histories, postcolonial state-building, authoritarian and democratic politics, informality, migration, regional inequality, and differing relationships between urban authorities and central governments.

The concept of “late development,” associated with Alexander Gerschenkron, may offer a useful analogy for understanding cities seeking to accelerate their global integration (Gerschenkron, 1962). Yet a city does not become global merely by constructing skyscrapers, convention centers, airports, luxury developments, or artificial waterfronts.

Such projects may create the appearance of globality without necessarily producing inclusive economic transformation. Indeed, competition for global-city status can encourage governments to imitate the visual forms of already established cities. Urban development then risks becoming a race to reproduce familiar symbols of modernity: glass towers, monumental bridges, integrated transit systems, waterfront business districts, shopping complexes, and spectacular cultural facilities.

Southeast Asia is filled with cities attempting to reposition themselves within regional and global networks. Alongside the established prominence of Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila, cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Surabaya, Bandung, Johor Bahru, Penang, Da Nang, Cebu, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane are cultivating new identities as centers of technology, manufacturing, tourism, education, culture, and logistics.

The critical question is not simply whether these cities will become global. It is what form of globality they are pursuing, who benefits from it, and how their global ambitions transform relations with surrounding regions.

Southeast Asian Urban Phantasmagorias

Infrastructure and economic connectivity are only part of the competition among cities. Urban reputation has also become an increasingly valuable resource.

Cities seek to attract investment, visitors, skilled workers, international students, cultural events, and corporate offices. Their success depends partly on how they are imagined. Architecture, branding, film, television, advertising, and social media help produce these urban imaginaries.

The concept of urban phantasmagoria helps explain this process. An urban phantasmagoria can be understood as an assemblage of recurring images, narratives, technologies, and imagined experiences through which a city becomes visible and desirable. It is rooted in material reality but is also amplified through fiction, media, and spectacle (Duarte et al., 2014; Mennel, 2008).

Southeast Asian cities have increasingly been represented through such phantasmagorias. Singapore is frequently portrayed as a futuristic city of architectural spectacle, technological efficiency, and controlled greenery. Bangkok appears alternately as a city of temples, street food, nightlife, congestion, luxury, and danger. Kuala Lumpur is represented through its towers and multicultural urbanism. Jakarta is depicted as a megacity of political power, relentless traffic, social inequality, and creative energy.

These representations do not merely describe cities. They shape expectations about them. A traveler may arrive in Bangkok already imagining neon-lit streets and temples. A businessperson may approach Singapore through its reputation for efficiency and connectivity. Jakarta may be understood through images of congestion and urban crisis before its diversity and cultural life are encountered.

Cinema plays an important role in creating and circulating these images. Films and television series transform urban landscapes into globally consumable settings. Singapore’s skyline in Crazy Rich Asians, Bangkok’s recurring presence in international thrillers and comedies, and the use of Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Philippine cities in regional productions all influence how audiences imagine Southeast Asian urban life.

Local film industries also produce competing interpretations. They can challenge externally imposed images by presenting cities through the experiences of residents, workers, migrants, women, young people, and marginalized communities. Cinema can therefore reinforce the marketed image of the global city, but it can also expose its contradictions.

Urban phantasmagorias are now produced not only by filmmakers and tourism agencies but also by ordinary users of digital platforms. Instagram posts, TikTok videos, YouTube travel content, food reviews, and location-based applications continuously reproduce selected versions of urban space. A café, night market, railway station, mural, or skyline can become a recognizable symbol through repeated digital circulation.

This changes the geography of urban reputation. A city no longer requires a centuries-old monument to become internationally visible. It may gain recognition through its food scene, music, creative industries, start-up ecosystem, environmental initiatives, or digitally mediated lifestyle.

For emerging Southeast Asian cities, this presents both an opportunity and a danger. Urban imagery can help secondary cities gain visibility without possessing the financial power of established global centers. Yet the pursuit of visibility may also reduce complex cities to marketable surfaces.

Beyond the Iconic Skyline

The study of global cities should therefore move beyond rankings, skyscrapers, financial flows, and airport connectivity. It must also examine representation, imagination, and the politics of visibility.

Which parts of a city are selected to represent it? Whose lives appear in its promotional images? Which communities are removed, hidden, or romanticized? Does the global image of a city reflect the experiences of its residents, or primarily the expectations of investors, tourists, and mobile elites?

These questions are particularly important in Southeast Asia because the region’s urban transformation is occurring alongside rapid economic change, climate vulnerability, mass migration, and persistent inequality.

The future Southeast Asian global city may not resemble the conventional model of New York, London, or Tokyo. It may be more polycentric, regionally networked, digitally mediated, climatically vulnerable, and dependent on complex formal and informal economies. Its globality may emerge not only through financial command functions but also through manufacturing, logistics, cultural production, migration networks, tourism, education, and regional diplomacy.

International Relations scholars should therefore examine cities not only as containers of national politics but as actors, infrastructures, representations, and contested social spaces. Urban studies scholars, meanwhile, can benefit from situating Southeast Asian cities within changing systems of regional and global power.

The refrigerator magnet remains an appropriate metaphor. It shows how easily a single landmark can come to represent a city and how a city can come to represent an entire nation. Yet the polished image on the magnet reveals only a fraction of urban reality.

Behind Marina Bay Sands, the Petronas Twin Towers, Monas, Bangkok’s temples, or Manila’s historic districts are histories of labor, migration, political authority, displacement, aspiration, and inequality. These histories must be brought into the analysis if we are to understand what Southeast Asian cities are becoming.

In the future, our refrigerators may hold magnets from Da Nang, Surabaya, Cebu, Johor Bahru, Phnom Penh, or Makassar alongside those from Singapore and Bangkok. Their presence would signal more than the expansion of tourism. It would reflect the emergence of new urban centers seeking a place within Southeast Asia’s increasingly dense networks of capital, culture, mobility, and imagination.

The central question, therefore, is not simply which Southeast Asian cities will become global cities.

It is what kinds of urban futures their global ambitions will produce, and whether the images through which they present themselves can accommodate the people, inequalities, and contested histories that exist beyond the skyline.

(QOB/ELS)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

The geopolitical bridge between Moscow and Jakarta is stronger than ever.

In a joint media briefing held at the Russian Ambassador’s residence in Jakarta on Wednesday (6/24), Russian Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Sergei Tolchenov and Russian Ambassador to ASEAN H.E. Evgeny Zagaynov outlined a massive wave of recent high-level state visits, upcoming joint military exercises, and a newly signed five-year ASEAN-Russia comprehensive action plan.

The message is clear: despite Western economic pressures, Russia is successfully positioning itself as an indispensable strategic, industrial, and energy partner for both Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region.

🏛️ Grounded in History: Russia-Indonesia Relations

The current partnership is built on a deep historical foundation of 76 years of diplomatic ties, officially established on February 3, 1950.

• A Renaissance of Strategic Partnership: Following the landmark 2025 anniversary year, the strategic partnership was formalized through a joint declaration approved during negotiations between President Vladimir Putin and President Prabowo Subianto in Saint Petersburg on June 19, 2025.

• Surging Economic Cooperation: Bilateral trade volume experienced positive growth, increasing by 16.2% to reach $4.02 billion USD. This spike stems directly from the 13th Meeting of the Russia-Indonesia Joint Commission co-chaired by First Deputy PM Denis Manturov and Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta. A monumental milestone was achieved with the official signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia in Saint Petersburg.

🌏 Shaping Regional Architecture: Russia-ASEAN Evolution

Moscow’s institutional ties with Southeast Asia have transitioned through clear developmental phases to form a structured multilateral partnership.

• The Early Dialogue Framework: Formal relations began in July 1991 when the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation attended the Opening Session of the 24th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Kuala Lumpur as a guest of the host government. Russia was subsequently elevated to a full Dialogue Partner of ASEAN during the 29th AMM in Jakarta in July 1996.

• Legal and Institutional Foundations: To solidify its commitment to regional stability, Russia officially acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) on November 29, 2004, in Vientiane, Laos. This established a legally binding framework based on peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. The institutional architecture was further reinforced in December 2011 with the establishment of the Mission of the Russian Federation to ASEAN in Jakarta.

• Elevation to Strategic Partnership: A major diplomatic milestone occurred during the 3rd ASEAN-Russia Summit in November 2018 in Singapore. There, regional leaders officially issued a Joint Statement elevating the dialogue framework to a Strategic Partnership, locking in deep, long-term cooperation across political, security, economic, and socio-cultural domains.

📡 Why It’s on Our Radar

Southeast Asia has become a primary arena in the shift toward a multipolar world.

Indonesia, under the leadership of President-elect Prabowo Subianto, is actively maintaining an independent, non-aligned foreign policy. Over the last 12 months alone, Prabowo has visited Russia three times for direct talks with Vladimir Putin.

Concurrently, economic reliance is surging: trade turnover between Russia and ASEAN has grown by 54% over the past decade, now exceeding $20 billion USD, making regional stabilization and supply chain resilience a high-stakes priority for both sides.

“Both ASEAN and Russia are among the most important poles of this multipolar world that already exists.” — H.E. Evgeny Zagaynov, Russian Ambassador to ASEAN

⚠️ However...

Navigating this deepening relationship comes with significant geopolitical friction and logistical hurdles:

• Sanctions Pressures: Western-led secondary sanctions force regional economies, like Singapore, to walk a tightrope, balancing official restrictions against profitable, practical economic cooperation with Moscow.

• Energy Delays: Despite intense high-level political talks regarding oil and gas supplies, practical business-to-business (B2B) implementation remains stalled. Indonesia recently shifted its energy mediation focal point from Pertamina to Lemigas, but concrete technical requests regarding oil grades, volumes, and payment mechanisms have yet to be finalized.

• Geopolitical Spillover: The ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to shadow diplomatic ties. Russia faces continuous pressure to defend its security policies and targeting parameters against international criticism regarding civilian casualties and regional stability.

“Russia is a reliable and sustainable provider of oil and gas... If there will be any specific request, we will be ready to discuss.” — H.E. Sergei Tolchenov, Russian Ambassador to Indonesia

💡 To Solve the Problem…

Both parties are implementing institutional, military, and digital frameworks to transform political goodwill into concrete realities:

• 🏭 INNOPROM 2026: Indonesia will serve as the official partner country at Russia’s premier industrial expo in Yekaterinburg next month. Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita will lead a massive delegation of 200 state and private business representatives to showcase Indonesian industrial products at a dedicated national pavilion.

• ⚓ Exercise ‘Oruda 2026’: To solidify defense ties, the Indonesian Navy has confirmed it will dispatch warships to Vladivostok on July 24–29 to participate in the second bilateral “Oruda” maritime military exercises alongside the Russian fleet.

• 📄 Kazan Declaration 2026: Endorsed at the recent ASEAN-Russia Summit in Kazan, this landmark document establishes the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) 2026–2030. It expands cooperation into emerging high-tech sectors, including smart cities, artificial intelligence (AI), biological security, and digital transformation.

“The plan of action reflects the growing maturity and evolving nature of our strategic partnership by expanding cooperation into new and emerging areas.” — H.E. Evgeny Zagaynov, Russian Ambassador to ASEAN

🚩 Key Future Milestones to Watch

• EAEU-Indonesia FTA Ratification: Russia and Belarus have fully ratified the Free Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The document is currently awaiting final legislative ratification from the Indonesian parliament (DPR RI) and remaining EAEU states.

• Bilateral Labor Migration: Recognizing Russia’s aging demographics, talks have commenced with the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower to establish formal, transparent intergovernmental frameworks to safely bring Indonesian workers into Russian regional industries.

• Diplomatic Expansion: Following a historic first-ever meeting between Vladimir Putin and Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão in Kazan, initial discussions are underway for Timor-Leste to open an embassy in Moscow, with Russia eyeing a reciprocal embassy in Dili in the foreseeable future.

“In my country also, the population is aging... Russian companies are looking for such possibilities [for labor force] in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.” — H.E. Sergei Tolchenov, Russian Ambassador to Indonesia

📌 The Bottom Line

Russia’s diplomatic offensive in Jakarta proves that isolation is a matter of perspective. By diversifying from traditional security ties into advanced digital markets, industrial exhibitions, and direct energy frameworks, Moscow and Jakarta are actively building the foundation of a multipolar Eurasian-ASEAN partnership that operates independently of Western institutional oversight.

📰 Need More Angles?

ASEAN Secretariat, Overview of ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Relations

Kompas, 76 Years of Friendship Between Russia and Indonesia

(JUN/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

On 18 June 2026, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released its World University Rankings (WUR) 2027 — evaluating 1,504 institutions across 106 higher education systems globally.

For Southeast Asia, the numbers tell a layered story:

• 🏆 85 ASEAN universities feature in the table — but only three sit inside the global Top 100

• 🚫 Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar remain absent from QS WUR 2027 entirely

• 📊 Malaysia leads the region in volume (32 ranked); Singapore leads in elevation (two universities in the Top 15)

The list is less a competition between schools, and more a map of where the region has invested over decades, and where it hasn’t.

⚠️ Why It Matters

Southeast Asia is in the middle of its demographic window. The working-age population is still expanding, the average age sits near 30, and over 70% of the region is now online.

Universities sit at the center of whether that demographic potential converts into productive economies, civic strength, and innovation capacity.

🔎 Why It’s on Our Radar

• 🎓 Higher education is the bridge between a young population and a knowledge economy — without strong institutions, the demographic dividend risks becoming demographic pressure.

• 🛂 Global student flows are shifting eastward as the “Big Four” destinations (US, UK, Canada, Australia) tighten visas and study caps — pushing students toward regional alternatives.

• 💼 Foreign investment and innovation ecosystems increasingly track tertiary capacity, not just labor cost.

• 🌏 In a region where political cycles can be volatile, universities offer one of the few institutions with multi-decade time horizons.

📊 The QS Framework

The QS World University Rankings, produced annually by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds since 2004, is one of three globally referenced league tables alongside Times Higher Education (THE) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

The 2027 edition scores institutions across nine indicators grouped into five lenses:

• 🔬 Research and Discovery (50%) — Academic Reputation (30%) and Citations per Faculty (20%)

• 💼 Employability and Outcomes (20%) — Employer Reputation (15%) and Employment Outcomes (5%)

• 🏫 Learning Experience (10%) — Faculty/Student Ratio

• 🌍 Global Engagement (15%) — International Faculty (5%), International Students (5%), International Research Network (5%)

• 🌱 Sustainability (5%)

QS reports that International Research Network and Sustainability recorded the highest mean scores (56) globally in 2027, while Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation remain the lowest (26 and 27).

📍 The National Picture

A snapshot of where each ASEAN country’s strongest institution lands in QS WUR 2027:

• 🇧🇳 Brunei: Universiti Brunei Darussalam, #=345, score 42.1 (2 ranked)

• 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Universitas Indonesia, #=191, score 56.7 (20 ranked)

• 🇲🇾 Malaysia: Universiti Malaya, #56, score 81.2 (32 ranked)

• 🇵🇭 Philippines: University of the Philippines, #=402, score 38 (5 ranked)

• 🇸🇬 Singapore: National University of Singapore, #10, score 96.2 (4 ranked)

• 🇹🇭 Thailand: Chulalongkorn University, #212, score 54.6 (13 ranked)

• 🇻🇳 Vietnam: Duy Tan University, #=504, score 32.2 (9 ranked)

Each country’s leading name says something distinct: Singapore’s research-intensive elite tier, Malaysia’s combination of public flagships and rising private universities, Thailand’s medical-and-research depth at Chulalongkorn and Mahidol, the Philippines’ single public anchor, Vietnam’s notable private-sector lead, and Indonesia’s broad but plateauing system.

🚫 The Absent Three

Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar do not appear anywhere in QS WUR 2027.

QS does not publicly detail why specific systems remain unranked, and the absence sits alongside a wider regional pattern across the table: not all Southeast Asian higher education systems generate the data footprint — publications, citation pipelines, reputation surveys, internationalisation metrics — that QS draws on.

The gap is structural, even if the reasons behind it are not laid out in the ranking itself.

🔍 However, the Ranking Contains Debate

QS WUR is not without critics:

• 🇰🇷 In 2023, 52 South Korean universities boycotted QS over a newly introduced International Research Network indicator, arguing it failed to reflect their institutional performance

• 🌐 A broader global movement has pushed back on major rankings, citing concerns over transparency, methodology, and reputation-heavy weighting

• 🔒 QS does not allow universities to formally withdraw — even institutions that stop submitting data continue to be ranked using publicly available information

That structural asymmetry helps explain why Southeast Asian universities’ relationship with rankings remains pragmatic rather than contested.

💼 What’s at Stake for ASEAN

Higher education isn’t only an academic question — it sits at the heart of the region’s economic positioning.

• 📈 Tertiary access varies widely across the region, from highly developed systems in Singapore to expanding but still maturing systems elsewhere

• 🧩 Skills mismatch persists — vocational and university graduates don’t always land in the fields they trained for, a gap repeatedly flagged by ASEAN-BAC and regional labor reports

• 🧳 Outbound student flows remain heavy, with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam consistently among the region’s largest senders of students abroad

• 🌐 Regional hubs are absorbing displaced mobility — QS notes that Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and South Korea all improved their average International Student Ratio in 2027 as the “Big Four” study destinations tightened policies

The opportunity is real. The institutional capacity to capture it remains uneven.

🌐 The Regional Stakes

Southeast Asia, envisioned under the ASEAN Higher Education Space Roadmap, calls for greater harmonisation across the region’s tertiary systems. What that could mean in practice:

• 🤝 Credit transfer mechanisms and joint degrees between ASEAN universities

• 🔬 Cross-border research consortia targeting regional challenges — climate, public health, AI governance

• 📚 Mutual accreditation frameworks that reduce friction in regional mobility and ease brain drain pressures

• 🌱 Co-investment in sustainability research — already an emerging strength for several ASEAN institutions in QS metrics

• 🛠️ Stronger industry–university linkages to close the persistent skills gap flagged by ASEAN-BAC

Without coordinated investment, two outcomes become more likely:

• 📉 Continued concentration of regional excellence in just two or three states

• 🪟 A closing demographic window without the institutional density to capture it

❤️ Why This Hits Home

🇸🇬 For prospective students, rankings shape decisions — where to apply, what to study, whom to trust with tuition.

🇮🇩 For governments, rankings shape budgets — research grants, internationalisation strategies, talent retention policy.

🌏 For ASEAN, rankings are a mirror, not a verdict. They reveal what universities have built—and what entire systems have invested in or neglected over decades.

🔮 The Bottom Line

QS WUR 2027 shows Southeast Asia as anchored (Singapore, Malaysia), in momentum (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand), and with structural absences (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar).

The global debate over how universities should be measured isn’t going away. Neither is the region’s demographic window.

The challenge for ASEAN is to use the rankings without being defined by them. Thus, when the list is published, the work continues.

📰 Need More Angles?

• ASEAN Secretariat ASEAN Roadmap 2025

• RAND Corporation Banking the “Demographic Dividend”: How Population Dynamics Can Affect Economic Growth

• The PIE News Korea boycotts QS Ranking but “a lot to be proud about”

• The Conversation University ranking systems are being rejected. African institutions should take note

• Times Higher Education Is South-east Asia higher education’s next global hotspot?

• QS Insights QS World University Rankings 2027 results

(BRZ/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

The Asian University Basketball League (AUBL) has unveiled its elite 12-team lineup for the 2026 championship, set to tip off from August 2-9 at Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China.

The tournament features six returning powerhouses from the inaugural 2025 edition and six first-time participants, including debutants from the Philippines (University of the Philippines) and Australia (University of Sydney).

Meanwhile, Institut Perbanas Jakarta has secured Indonesia’s spot for the AUBL 2027 season after winning the men’s title at Campus League Basketball Season 1 The Nationals on June 13, defeating Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) 47-45 in overtime at UPH Basketball Court, Tangerang. The women’s title went to Universitas Surabaya (Ubaya), who beat Soegijapranata Catholic University (SCU) 59-51.

Last year, National Chengchi University (NCCU) of Chinese Taipei won the inaugural AUBL championship, defeating Tsinghua University 82-79 in a thrilling final.

Sung Hsin-Hao was named Finals MVP after a monster performance of 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. NCCU finished the tournament a perfect 5-0, while Tsinghua closed with a 4-1 record.

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📡 Why It’s on Our Radar

AUBL is rapidly emerging as Asia’s answer to the NCAA, backed by a star-studded roster of investors including Joe Tsai (Brooklyn Nets owner), Marc Lasry (former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner), David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers co-owner), and basketball legend Yao Ming.

The league’s debut in 2025 drew over 65 million livestream views and more than 29,000 in-person fans, signaling strong regional appetite for elite collegiate competition.

For Southeast Asia, the tournament represents a significant milestone. The inclusion of the Philippines and Australia for the first time expands the league’s footprint across the region, while Indonesia’s representative, Perbanas, will compete in the 2027 edition against top university programs from across Asia-Pacific.

🏆 The 2026 AUBL Championship Field

Returning Powerhouses (6 teams):

• National Chengchi University (Chinese Taipei) – Reigning AUBL 2025 champions; record 74-game winning streak and six consecutive UBA titles (2021-2026)

• Tsinghua University (China) – Five CUBAL national championships; AUBL 2025 runners-up

• Hakuoh University (Japan) – Three JUBF All-Japan University titles; third place in AUBL 2025

• Peking University (China) – CUBAL national champions (2014-15, 2017-19 three-peat, 2024-25)

• Yonsei University (Korea) – Five consecutive U-League titles (2016-2020); AUBL test event champions

• National University of Mongolia (Mongolia) – MCBA Division I champions (2022, 2023)

First-Time Participants (6 teams):

• 🇵🇭 University of the Philippines – Four UAAP national titles (1940, 1986, 2022, 2024)

• 🇦🇺 University of Sydney – Australian University Basketball League champions (2022), runners-up (2024, 2025)

• 🇯🇵 Waseda University (Japan) – 103-year-old program; JUBF national runners-up (2025)

• 🇰🇷 Korea University – 14 MBC Cup titles; five consecutive U-League titles (2021-2025)

• 🇨🇳 Shanghai Jiao Tong University – Yao Ming’s alma mater; CUBAL Southeast Region champions

• 🇭🇰 The Chinese University of Hong Kong – Ended 33-year title drought in 2025-26

🇵🇭 Spotlight: University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons

The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons bring a storied basketball tradition to the AUBL.

Founded in the early 20th century, UP is one of the founding members (1938) of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)—the premier sports league in the country—and was also a founding member of the NCAA Philippines in 1924.

Championship History:

• UAAP Champions (4): 1940, 1986, 2022, 2024

• NCAA Champions (4): 1924, 1925, 1926, 1929 (winning three consecutive titles from 1924-1926)

The Fighting Maroons endured a long championship drought after their 1986 title—a victory that remains legendary in Philippine sports history—before reclaiming UAAP glory in 2022 and following it up with another title in 2024.

UP’s participation in the AUBL marks their first appearance in a pan-regional collegiate tournament, following their UAAP runner-up finish in 2025 and setting the stage for a new generation of Fighting Maroons to test themselves against the continent’s best.

🏀 Indonesia’s Path to AUBL: Perbanas’ Triumph

Perbanas entered The Nationals as a third-place team from the Jakarta-Tangerang regional but defied expectations. The final against UKSW was a defensive battle, with scores tied 40-40 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Muhammad Haikal Malik—named tournament MVP—sank the decisive two-pointer to seal a 47-45 victory.

The win earned Perbanas the right to represent Indonesia in the AUBL 2027 season, which will follow a home-and-away format starting November 2026. They will compete in Conference B alongside teams from Australia, Hong Kong, and Macau.

🎯 What’s at Stake

AUBL’s rapid growth reflects a broader shift: Asia’s university sports ecosystem is professionalising. With investors like Tsai, Lasry, and Yao Ming backing the league, AUBL is positioning itself as a talent pipeline to professional leagues such as the CBA and B.League. For student-athletes, the tournament offers exposure to international scouts and a stage to compete against the continent’s best.

“Getting rejected by an NCAA college remains one of the regrets of my playing career. With AUBL, I’m proud to be able to support the right platform for student athletes in Asia.”
— Yao Ming, AUBL Investor

The inclusion of UP, with its rich UAAP pedigree, adds significant competitive depth and prestige to the tournament, creating a natural rivalry with other regional powers like National Chengchi University and Tsinghua University.

🔮 The Bottom Line

The AUBL 2026 tournament is set to be a landmark event for Asian university basketball, showcasing the region’s growing talent and ambition.

For Indonesia, Perbanas’ victory provides a historic opportunity to compete against the continent’s elite programs on a global stage.

With the University of the Philippines bringing its UAAP championship pedigree and passionate fanbase, the tournament’s Southeast Asian flavor is stronger than ever.

As the league transitions to a home-and-away format in November 2026, the future of Asian collegiate sports is being written—and Southeast Asia is playing a leading role.

🔎 Need More Angles?

• AUBL AUBL Unveils Elite 12-Team Lineup for August 2026 Championship

• Campus League Hasil Akhir Basketball The Nationals Season 1

(ELS/QOB)

🎯 The Main Takeaway

On June 16th, 2026, UNESCO held a global press briefing to address the escalating challenges families face in the digital age, launching a new practical guide designed to help parents navigate their children's online lives. Attended by 40 participants from around the world, the briefing featured a high-profile panel including UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Mariya Gabriel; Chief of Media and Information Literacy, Adeline Hulin; and CLEMI France Assistant Director, Virginie Sassoon. The session highlighted critical data regarding youth exposure to social media, skyrocketing AI usage, and the growing debate over institutional phone bans.

During the first session by Mariya Gabriel, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, there are three numbers that capture the current moment:

• Parental Anxiety: Parents worldwide are deeply worried about their children’s excessive screen time.

• US AI Companion Surge: In the US, a majority of children have used AI companions completely without their parents’ knowledge, leaving families feeling overwhelmed.

• UK Social Media Baseline: In the UK, around 40% of children already have social media profiles operating with minimum control or supervision from their parents.

These alarming trends have sparked concern worldwide, particularly as online crimes targeting children continue to increase.

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📵 The Failure of Bans and Age Restrictions

On these platforms, algorithms aggressively amplify harmful content, including cyberbullying, self-harm, and violence. Current age restriction systems fail to stop children from being exposed to this landscape. Bans are not enough because children’s digital lives extend far beyond social media platforms. For instance, 90% of children in Uruguay play on their phones, while 70% on their computer, and there is no big gender gap. This results in severe sleep deprivation and a lack of physical movement.

According to UNESCO, teenagers are adopting AI tools at a massive rate. In the UK, AI usage among teens surged from 37% to 77% in the span of just a single year—entirely without parental guidance. Bans alone cannot solve the issue or protect children; instead, youth need to be empowered, protected, and supported.

Beyond supporting a ban, parents need proactive guidance before giving their children smartphones (such as establishing clear family rules). Furthermore, parents must navigate the era of online influencers by discussing why their children follow certain figures and what information those influencers actually provide.

🚸 Balancing Online and Offline Care

While maintaining a neutral political stance on the issue, UNESCO believes that restrictions and bans cannot replace active digital education. Furthermore, the agency insists that bans should never substitute for “safety by design” standards—which means building technology that naturally protects children by removing features like infinite scrolling and targeted advertising. Bans can, however, serve as leverage to encourage tech platforms to adopt these safety standards. Ultimately, safety shouldn’t rely on platforms alone, it requires collective development.

A major challenge in addressing this issue is the lack of global data. We have a lot of data, but it’s more geographically focused. Addressing this, a large network of experts and practitioners from the global North to the global South mobilized to create a practical book filled with illustrations and key takeaways for families.

The goal is to ensure parents actively manage this aspect of their children’s lives. Parents need to care for their children’s online lives just as much as they care for their offline lives. They must understand the exact digital environments their children experience—how AI companions, algorithms, and tools function—and use the right strategies to engage with them.

While constant surveillance can provide parents with a temporary sense of security, it often feels overly controlling and restrictive to children. The panel emphasized the need to find a healthy, respectful balance between protection and independence.

🗝️ Key Takeaways on Guidance

• Shifting from Restrictions to Dialogue

  The current generation cannot simply be controlled by rules and restrictions; they require genuine guidance and open dialogue regarding how these platforms function.

• Overcoming Parental Misinterpretations

  Parents frequently misinterpret what their children are doing online. A youth survey revealed that while parents assume social media is purely for entertainment, children are actually using it to learn English and gain broader knowledge. This highlights why rules without explanation fail, and why open dialogue is essential.

• Proactive vs. Reactive Conversations

  Data shows that 9 out of 10 children encounter harmful content online, making proactive communication vital. Currently, only 47 percent of parents have conversations with their children before an issue occurs online; the vast majority only talk about digital risks after something bad has already happened.

📚 Does UNESCO plan to push for mandatory media literacy in school curricula?

While the new publication is primarily framed as a parent’s guide, the discussion highlighted a critical need to extend these resources directly to teachers. Attendees questioned whether the guide provides explicit strategies for the classroom, given that teachers are on the front lines of seeing how screen fatigue and digital distraction affect students daily. UNESCO confirmed that adapting these resources for schools is a top priority in the coming weeks. The goal is to build a bridge between home and school environments so that educators and parents are utilizing the same framework when guiding children through digital challenges.

A global survey conducted last year revealed a strong commitment among member states to integrate media and information literacy into school curricula. However, many countries still focus heavily on basic digital skills rather than critical thinking skills, and a large geographic disparity remains.

Recent UNESCO data indicates that more than half the countries in the world already ban the use of mobile phones in schools. While UNESCO does not endorse blanket bans on smartphones in all circumstances, it does support restrictions—including targeted bans—to prevent device use from obstructing learning.

The organization argues that smartphones should only be used in schools when there is a clear, meaningful educational justification. UNESCO hopes to translate these global insights and commitments into concrete, actionable curriculum steps very soon.

💭❓ General Q&A, Technical Guidelines, and Future Actions

📜Language Availability and Public Partnerships

The parent guide is currently available in English, Spanish, and French, with an Arabic version and other languages planned as translation partnerships develop. UNESCO is also partnering with France Télévisions to increase global accessibility.

👩‍🏫 Involvement of Tech and AI Developers

Tech companies and AI developers are involved in these discussions indirectly. UNESCO maintains specific guidelines that interface with private organizations, technology sectors, and governments to ensure they are held accountable and act as part of the solution.

🧷The Move Toward Default Safe Modes

There is a massive, cross-sector agreement among child development experts that relying entirely on parental configuration settings is an unsustainable safety strategy. Many parents—particularly single parents, working-class families, or those lacking technical literacy—simply do not have the time or specialized knowledge to manage intricate privacy matrices. Therefore, tech platforms must be mandated to implement automatic, default safe modes for users under the age of 18, ensuring that “Safety by Design” is a fixed standard rather than an optional setting.

🏠Why This Hits Home

This isn’t just a summary of global briefing, but a reality check for what’s happening in living rooms right now. The fact that a huge majority of kids are using AI companions without their parents knowing—and that teen AI usage doubled in a single year—proves that technology is moving way faster than standard parenting rules.

The stats on reactive parenting also hit hard. When fewer than half of families discuss online safety before a problem happens. UNESCO’s insights challenge the assumption that kids are just wasting time online, revealing that many are actually trying to learn. It’s a sharp reminder that shielding kids doesn’t come from building higher walls or taking away devices, but from changing how we talk to them about what they see every day.

🛑The Bottom Line

Bans and restrictions are a temporary band-aid on a fast-evolving problem. We simply cannot forbid our way out of online risks. Keeping kids safe requires a real team effort: tech companies must be forced to build automatic “Safety by Design” features so the entire burden doesn’t fall on exhausted parents, schools need to teach critical digital thinking rather than just basic tech skills, and parents have to treat their kids’ online lives with the same proactive care as their offline lives. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t constant surveillance, but open, honest dialogue that gives kids the tools to navigate the digital world safely on their own.

(AKO/ELS)