In an article for Al Jazeera, Erin Hale gives an overview of the upgraded ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, which will broaden collaboration on infrastructure, digital and green transitions, trade facilitation, and people to people exchanges, as trade between both parties grow under Trump's trade wars.

In a brief by the Asia Society Policy Institute, Bryanna Entwistle and Shay Wester cover President Trump’s first stop on his Asia tour: the ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Kuala Lumpur. On the sidelines, he presided over the signing of a number of deals, including a ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia, and “reciprocal trade” deals with Malaysia and Cambodia, respectively.

In an article for East Asia Forum, Ronald Tundang discusses gaps in ASEAN's health systems, which leave millions without reliable access to essential medicines. Tundang proposes that, to bridge regional gaps, ASEAN's least developed countries could follow the "ASEAN Minus X" model to establish a sub-regional facility, combining a patent-licensing hub with pooled procurement, which would facilitate WTO-compliant licensing, aggregate demand, and uphold quality benchmarks.

In an article for East Asia Forum, Shiro Armstrong discusses Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and ASEAN’s response, where the latter avoided retaliation, which would worsen economic consequences, and instead communicated a coordinated, non-retaliatory response to the tariffs.

In this paper published by NYSEAN Partner ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Angel Hsu and Silvia Landa discuss how the US government has withdrawn both domestically and globally from climate and clean energy engagement. This withdrawal has been marked by a dismantling of foreign development assistance, proposed rollbacks of the Inflation Reduction Act, and aggressive tariffs. They assert that these policy shifts undermine the possibility of bilateral clean energy and climate collaboration with Southeast Asian nations.

In this episode of Southeast Asia Radio, produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Gregory B. Poling and Elina Noor are joined by Ken Mathis Lohatepanont to discuss the latest updates from Thailand, including the new Bhumjaithai-led government, the fate of the Shinawatras, and the snap elections scheduled in early 2026.

In an article for the Torino World Affairs Institute’s Indo-Pacific Outlooks, Pongphisoot Paul Busbarat and Thanawit Wangpuchakane argue that the EU can play an indispensable role in reinforcing the agency of Indo-Pacific secondary powers, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, and ASEAN.  Through a series of cooperative, inclusive, multilateral frameworks, the EU can help maintain the liberal order, stabilizing the region at a time of a growing leadership vacuum in the Indo-Pacific.

In an article by East Asia Forum, Mari Pangestu and Julia Tijaja discuss the need for ASEAN to strengthen regional resilience in light of geopolitical tensions and the negative effects of US tariffs on the region's economy. By deepening regional integration, fully implementing RCEP, coordinating and addressing reforms and priorities, ASEAN may turn these issues into an opportunity for growth and leadership.