The South China Sea remains a major flashpoint that tests ASEAN’s cohesion and relevance as a regional security actor, with ongoing naval and coast-guard confrontations risking miscalculation and undermining the rules-based order that Singapore depends on for its trade and strategic resilience.
Unlocking Asean-Turkey investment openings requires joint due diligence, clearer rules and localised strategies
Canadian government agencies, experts, and businesses are seeking opportunities to expand trade, investment, and agricultural technology cooperation with Viet Nam amid growing demand for market diversification and sustainable agricultural supply chains, viewing the country as an important market and a gateway to Southeast Asia.
Freight trains linking south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region with Vietnam now operate on a daily basis, up from the previous schedule of three days a week, carrying electronics and machinery south while bringing tropical fruit, including durian and mangosteen, to the north.
In an exclusive interview with CNA’s senior correspondent Melissa Goh, US Ambassador to ASEAN Kevin Kim reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to continued economic and security engagement in the region.
In the eyes of many people in the Asia-Pacific region, we are currently in the midst of some tangled economic forces: China's export surge, trade tensions between the United States and China, the Israel-US conflict with Iran, and the artificial intelligence boom.
Hong Kong is stepping up economic and trade ties with Malaysia and the wider Asean region through a newly established Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Kuala Lumpur.
ASEAN needs to increase intra-ASEAN trade, which currently accounts for less than 25 per cent, to realise its potential of becoming the world’s fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
