As Vietnam prepares for one of its most critical Communist Party congresses in decade, former ambassador John McCarthy evaluates a looming leadership transition.

In the final days of the Trump Administration, the US has offered to increase development spending to Indonesia in return for Jakarta recognising Israel. But, as regional analyst David Engel writes, the incoming Biden Administration can learn lessons from such a transactional offer. With Indonesia asked to abandon its longstanding principles, such a proposal is politically inept and will likely end in failure.

The riot on Capitol Hill might serve as vindication of Joe Biden’s claims that Donald Trump was ‘unfit’ for the office of President. But as John McCarthy writes, the damage to America at home and abroad will outlast the ‘national nightmare’ of the Trump era.

Of all the countries that the new US administration might wish to nudge its way as it tackles the implications of Beijing’s power and ambitions, very few matter more strategically than Indonesia. Yet, as David Engel of ASPI writes, such are the obstacles to achieving this in the prevailing circumstances that Joe Biden should think twice about trying.

As tensions rise between China and the Quad nations, ASEAN has the ability to leverage its centrality and encourage peaceful co-operation in the region, writes regional expert Le Trung Kien.

After a year of worsening relations, prospects do not appear bright for the ROK-North Korea relationship in 2021, writes Dr. Beomchul Shin of the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

The Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) has launched its Regional Security Outlook for 2021. Editor, Prof. Ron Huisken, kicks off the series with an assessment of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on regional security.