Csds Asia Matters Podcasts

Western governments, led by the U.S., have been taking a harder line on trade with China. At stake is global economic leadership, particularly in vital technologies from semiconductors to Artificial Intelligence to electric vehicles, as well as cooperation on climate goals. But how united are the U.S. and Europe on how to approach trade relations w…

A spy balloon and China’s presence in Cuba have put the spotlight on Beijing’s surveillance network around the globe this year, further fueling tensions with the U.S. But what do we know about China’s international intelligence operations? What are Beijing’s goals, and how is it using secret agents alongside satellites, TikTok and other hi-tech too…

Cambodia’s longtime leader Hun Sen emerged as the winner once again in the country’s recent general election, with his ruling Cambodian People’s Party winning 120 of the 125 seats in the country’s national assembly. But if the election result was hardly in doubt, there is some change in the air. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since the mid 1980s, …

Cyberattacks are estimated to have caused trillions of dollars of damage to the world’s economy in recent years, and are now seen as a major national security threat by governments around the world. Some governments and private companies are looking to step up cooperation to fight the hackers, but nascent initiatives, such as a new pact between the…

The triumph of the Move Forward party in Thailand’s election has highlighted young voters’ desire for change and reform. But with the party’s popular leader, Pita Limjaroenrat scrambling to form a government and facing political roadblocks, questions are mounting over what may happen next in the Southeast Asian nation. What’s the likelihood of a mi…

There’s been plenty of coverage of the growing tensions between the U.S. and China, particularly when it comes to the Indo Pacific. In this episode we are going to consider how other countries are responding to that friction, and in turn, where that leaves the current balance of power in the region. Are countries feeling pressure to take sides? Wha…

From K-pop superhits to Netflix shows and Oscar-winning films, South Korea has established itself as a global cultural powerhouse. “Squid Game,” “The Glory,” “Parasite” and BTS are only some of the names that make K-culture a multibillion dollar industry, with fans in the hundreds of millions. But how did the so-called Korean wave come to be, and w…

Arrests, sackings and resignations of top politicians amid a series of corruption scandals have dominated Vietnam’s news headlines in recent months. In this episode of Asia Matters hosted by Bill Hayton, political analyst Nguyen Phuong Linh and researcher Nguyen Khac Giang break down the stakes of the latest government shake-ups and explain what th…

This episode Andrew is joined by Josh Kurlantzick, a senior fellow for South East Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Josh's new book, entitled "Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign To Influence Asia and the World", takes a deep dive into Beijing's soft power operations. What tools and techniques has it used to leverage i…

This episode was recorded at the first ever Indo-Pacific Forum at the Brussels School of Governance, hosted by our partners, the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy. The forum was an opportunity for experts and policymakers from across both Europe and the Indo-Pacific to come together to talk about some really important issues - and for us …

All eyes have been on China recently as the 20th Communist Party Congress drew to a close, and Xi Jinping was confirmed as leader for a historic third term. Joining us this episode to discuss the outcome of the congress and more is one of the UK’s leading academics on China, Kerry Brown. He's a prolific author, and started his career as a diplomat …

South Korea has undoubtedly become a major player both in regional and — increasingly — global geopolitics. A remarkable period of economic growth in recent decades has led it to become the world’s tenth largest economy, home to global corporate giants such as Samsung and Hyundai. Yet the country’s post World War Two politics has been marked by dra…

The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on 8th July shocked the world, with tributes pouring in from all over the globe. Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister until he stepped down in 2020, was arguably one of the country’s most consequential leaders. He oversaw a programme of economic reform at home, which came to be k…

This episode focuses on Japan’s role in Asia, and in particular its somewhat overlooked relations with South East Asia. While there is plenty of coverage of China’s increasing economic and diplomatic clout in the region, Japan — still, of course, the world’s third largest economy — has for decades been a major investor in the region. Not only that,…

With tensions around North Korea starting to make headlines again, in this episode we look at relations between Pyongyang and its closest ally, China. The North Korean army has already carried out more missile tests this year than ever before, according to the US government - and speculation is mounting that the one-party state may be about to laun…

At the end of June, the Philippines will formally inaugurate a new leadership – but it will feature two very familiar names. There will be a second ‘President Ferdinand Marcos’; and another Duterte – Sara, daughter of the current president – will become vice-president. The new President Marcos, generally known as Bongbong, is the son of the man who…

This episode examines the responses of three of Asia’s most prominent nations to Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Japan, India, and Korea. The war has not only brought dreadful suffering to the Ukrainian people, as well as heavy losses for the Russian army - it has also upended many of the assumptions that have guided international relations for decad…

South Korea’s closest presidential election since it became a democracy in 1987 has led to victory for the conservative Yoon Seok-yeol, who will now take office for a five-year term in May. His win comes at a time of difficulty, with North Korea once again testing missiles and nearby Russia engaged in war in Europe. At home, Yoon faces pressing eco…

On the eve of International Women's Day, we're bringing you a special podcast in collaboration with King's College London's Lau China Institute, looking at the lives of women in China today. In this episode we look at the challenges facing young Chinese women in balancing their jobs and home lives, and the prejudices they often face in the workplac…

Welcome to the inaugural episode of CSDS-Asia Matters, in which we continue our mission to bring together policy experts and academics to dissect the factors shaping today’s Asia. It's a huge pleasure for us to be formally linked with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance — an academic institution that…

The eyes of the world are on China as Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics. A successful Games will be used by leader Xi Jinping to bolster his image and status at home and abroad; a status that was given a significant boost in November, when a major meeting of the Communist Party effectively enshrined his position in the party’s historical pantheon, …

We’re heading to familiar territory again on this week's podcast - the Indo-Pacific. Increasingly, the area is becoming the centre of the geopolitical conversation being had all around the world. China's showcasing of its increasing might there is a big reason for this of course. But the sheer size of this complex region and the wealth of its resou…

This week we take stock of COP26, the latest major international meeting on climate change which just wrapped up in Glasgow - billed beforehand as the "last best hope for the world to get its act together". Asia, of course, is crucial to the debate over climate change. It’s home to some of the world’s biggest polluters, but also some of its fastest…

This week we look at China's tech industry - few sectors have been more dynamic or grown as fast in recent years, with the likes of e-commerce giant Alibaba and video games maker Tencent rising to become among the world’s most valuable companies. Until recently, that is. Over the past year China’s government has taken a series of steps that togethe…

For those hoping the coronavirus pandemic was under control in Asia, the summer has been a nasty shock. A resurgence of Covid-19 across Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and elsewhere, mainly associated with the spread of the Delta variant, has put paid to the idea the region was nearing the end of the health crisis. Even in countries like Chi…

In any list of influential tech powers in the world, South Korea would undoubtedly be near the top. In this episode we delve into how the country achieved this status, transforming the nature of its economy and producing global industry leaders like Samsung and LG Electronics. But we'll also look to the future, and at how South Korea is working wit…

We turn again to the Korean peninsula in this week's episode, in another collaboration with CSDS. We often talk about North Korea's future in terms of how the issue plays out amid the region's broad geopolitical rivalries, and between the US and China. Less discussed is how the issue is viewed in South Korea - which technically remains at war with …

The most shocking political development in Asia so far this year is arguably the seizure of power by the military in Myanmar, and the arrest of the country’s former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The military’s crackdown on protests and other resistance against the coup has so far resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests. In this …

Against all odds, and after much compromise, the Tokyo Olympic Games are set to go ahead this summer. With no foreign fans and most spectators banned, it's certainly not the event Japan would have wanted. In this episode we’ll assess the impact and significance of past Olympics in the Asian region, as well as what this summer’s event may mean for J…

This week we turn our attention to the Indo-Pacific - the new geopolitical groupings emerging there, from multilateral trade deals to nascent security arrangements - and how Europe fits in to the picture. The most well-known of these new security groups is probably the Quad, a grouping of the major democracies with skin in the game in the region - …

In July the Chinese Communist Party turns 100. From humble beginnings in a small building in Shanghai's French Concession, the party would go on to seize power, retaining it into the present day, and fundamentally alter the course of China's history. A century ago, the CCP's founders would probably not have been able to imagine the influence they w…

For this episode we're taking a look at one of the world’s most intractable geopolitical issues - North Korea - as the second of our collaborations with the Centre for Security, Strategy and Diplomacy at the Brussels School of Governance. South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in has just been in Washington for talks with President Biden, in part to disc…

This week we set our sights on Japan and South Korea, East Asia's most prominent middle powers. With the United States and China showing no sign of backing away from confrontation, we look at what it means for two countries caught between them geographically and politically. What roles do they see themselves taking on as the Asia-Pacific becomes ev…

US President Joe Biden has steamed past his first 100 days in office, typically a stage where we can look back and take stock of where a new administration is headed. For those of us outside America there’s a particular focus on Mr Biden’s foreign policy - and for us and our listeners of course, a particular focus on his Asia policy. In this episod…

This week Asia Matters joins forces with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Brussels School of Governance, home to a rich expertise on Asia and working to enhance understanding of Europe's security challenges in the region. Our first in what will be a series of episodes is on disinformation. Disinformation has become somewhat of…

ASEAN leaders will meet in Jakarta on April 24 to discuss the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, which has shown no sign of abating since a military coup deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the beginning of February. Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets daily to demand a return to democracy - and the military has sought to …

China’s growing economic clout has seen its influence rise accordingly in major international institutions — and none more so than in the United Nations. For several years now, China has spoken of the UN as the most authoritative multilateral body in world affairs - and it's put its money where its mouth is, becoming the second-biggest contributor …

China’s rulers have been setting out their goals for the country at their big annual political meetings in Beijing. This year’s event held special significance, with policy makers revealing their latest five-year plan for China’s economy, as well as their targets for the environment among a host of other issues. We are first joined by two experts t…

In this episode we turn to a part of the world we haven’t discussed before — the Pacific Islands. Stretching over a vast area covering some 15% of the earth’s surface, the region is home to diverse countries and cultures, from Papua New Guinea in the West to the Cook Islands in the east, taking in countries such as Fiji and the Solomon Islands, alo…

After a year-long battle behind closed doors, Vietnam has a new political leadership. At its Congress, which finished on February 1st, the Communist Party selected a new Politburo to run the country for the next five years. In this episode of Asia Matters we find out why the Party thinks a 76-year-old man with serious health problems is the best pe…

"Our country was a bird that was just learning to fly. Now the army broke our wings," said one activist. "What was granted by the generals is now being taken back," declared another. It’s been a dramatic few days in Southeast Asian nation Myanmar - or Burma. The country’s military has seized power again, and arrested several of the country’s civili…

The US and India are the world's two biggest democracies - and the relationship between them is one of the world's most important bilateral partnerships. In political, economic and security terms, the two countries have grown closer and closer over the past two decades, with the Trump administration hailing a period of "remarkable growth" in 2020. …

Southeast Asia is becoming an increasingly important geopolitical battleground - and so this week, we put the region's complex relations with China in the spotlight. Although many ASEAN nations have deepened their economic ties with Beijing in recent years, there remains a fair bit of wariness towards China's expansion of interests in the region. A…

It took a little longer than expected but we finally know who the next American president will be: Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The Trump era is drawing to a close then, though some of his policies' repercussions in Asia may well last longer than their instigator. The heightened tensions with China, and his unprecedented one-on-one meetings with…

When Joko Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, became president of Indonesia in 2014, it completed a stunning rise for a political outsider who had spent much of his previous life running a furniture making company. With his mastery of retail politics and business know-how, Jokowi seemed set to cut through the bureaucracy and corruption that have bedevi…

This week's episode is a deep dive on a company that's transforming not just Asia, but arguably the entire global tech sector - Japan's Softbank. Even if you've never heard of Softbank, you'll have heard of the companies it's invested in - from Alibaba to Uber to Tiktok owner Bytedance - and more recently, and disastrously, US property firm WeWork.…

In the second of our special editions recorded at the Association for Asian Studies' annual conference, we turn our focus to India. Our guest is Pratap Mehta (@pbmehta), one of the country's best-known public intellectuals, who's also the former president of the Centre for Policy Research. India has the world's second-highest coronavirus caseload a…

South Asian countries are facing a double whammy -- the effects of the global pandemic and an increasingly urgent battle against pollution and the effects of climate change. The World Bank predicted in the spring that the region would suffer its worst economic performance in four decades this year. Severe flooding in recent weeks has further damage…

This week, we present - the inaugural Asia Matters Book Club episode. China has dominated the headlines this summer - and if you're looking for a good book to help you understand the country better, we have three excellent suggestions. The Wall Street Journal's Lingling Wei is back to talk through her new book, Superpower Showdown. Co-authored with…

This week, in a collaboration with the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, we turn our attention to Japan - specifically, its foreign policy. Against a backdrop of rising tensions between the US and China, what are Japan's priorities when it comes to managing its relations with the two countries? As the world's third largest economy, it holds consider…