Guest Author
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Vietnam’s Semiconductor Strategy: Between Opportunity and Strategic Constraint
Guest Article by Léane Noirot Vietnam is pushing to move up the semiconductor value chain from assembly into chip design and fabrication, backed by national strategy and rising foreign investment. Its success will depend on managing infrastructure, capital, and geopolitical pressures amid intensifying US–China competition. Vietnam has entered a decisive phase…
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Isolation vis-a-vis Integration: China’s road to AI self sufficiency
Far from crippling China’ technological ambitions, the US sanctions have accelerated Beijing’s transition toward a resilient, state-directed model of AI sovereignty. Through a “Triple Helix” framework that fuses immense state capital, corporate entrepreneurship, and growing R&D power of elite universities, China is systematically replacing foreign dependencies with domestic alternatives. The…
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Cargo Cult Capitalism: Why Indonesia’s New Sovereign Wealth Fund Won’t Fix the 5% Growth Trap
Guest Article by Nisa Fathia Rahma Indonesia’s struggle to escape its 5% growth ceiling reflects deep institutional constraints rather than a temporary slowdown. While the government has turned to the Danantara sovereign wealth fund to drive development, without regulatory certainty, meritocratic governance, and rule of law, state-directed capital risks reinforcing…
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The Strategic Relations of ASEAN and the EU: Trade, Green Economy, Geopolitics
Guest Article by Jit Soon Aw Once colonial, now collaborative: the EU and ASEAN are evolving history’s imbalance into a mutually lucrative partnership. The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) are undoubtedly two of the most successful regional blocs with the shared aim of enhancing…
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Persian Gulf’s AI-ization: Playing Both Sides in a Bipolar Tech World
Guest Article by Mostafa Bushehri Caught between Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, the Gulf is betting its oil fortune on becoming the world’s next AI super-node. “We are in the age of a huge industrial revolution that will change the rules of politics, economics, and societies,” declared Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad…
Sino-Southeast Initiative 