The ASEAN Wonk Podcast

Our guest today is Dr. Kaewkamol “Karen” Pitakdumrongkit, who is the executive director at the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) that plays a very important role in some of the regional geoeconomic conversations including in APEC. We start our conversation talking through some of the perceptions of current challenges in policymaking, including the Middle East conflict fallout . Be sure t...

ASEAN Wonk: Welcome to the ASEAN Wonk Podcast, where we bring you expert insights and regional perspectives on Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific geopolitics and geoeconomics. I’m your host Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran. If you haven’t already, do subscribe to the ASEAN Wonk platform at www.aseanwonk.com so you don’t miss our full posts. Our guest today is Dr. Michael Green who worked at the National Se...

ASEAN Wonk: Welcome to the ASEAN Wonk Podcast, where we bring you expert insights and regional perspectives on Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific geopolitics and geoeconomics. I’m your host Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran. If you haven’t already, do subscribe to the ASEAN Wonk platform at www.aseanwonk.com so you don’t miss our full posts. Our guest today is Edmund Sim, an international trade lawyer and f...

INTRODUCTION ASEAN Wonk: Welcome to the ASEAN Wonk Podcast, where we bring you expert insights and regional perspectives on Southeast Asia and Indo-Pacific geopolitics and geoeconomics. I’m your host Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran. If you haven’t already, do subscribe to the ASEAN Wonk platform at www.aseanwonk.com so you don’t miss our full posts. Our guest today is James Crabtree who has held severa...

Our guest today is Matthew Goodman, who previously worked on preparations for G-20, APEC and the East Asia Summit at the National Security Council and held various roles in government, think tanks, as well as the private sector. We’ll start our conversation talking about a number of geoeconomic developments, including US tariff deals and the regional economic agenda . Be sure to stay tuned as we g...

Our guest today is Datuk Siobhan Das, who is the CEO of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM Malaysia) based in Malaysia. We’ll start our conversation talking through some recent developments, including the wider implications of the new U.S.-Malaysia agreement on reciprocal trade and the Malaysia ASEAN chairmanship . Stay tuned as we go through a number of other forthcoming developme...

Our guest today is Dr. Vannarith Chheang, who is speaking in his personal capacity and has a variety of affiliations, including as chairman of the advisory council for Cambodia’s National Assembly and Angkor Social Innovation Park. He has nearly two decades of experience serving in various roles including as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank and the UN. We’ll start our conversation talki...

Our guest today is Brigadier General David Stilwell, who served as assistant secretary of state for the bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the first Trump administration after a series of other roles as well, including as defense attaché to China and as part of the US Air Force where he started his career back in 1980. We'll start our conversation talking through a number of contempora...

Our guest today is Dr. Pushpanathan Sundram, who previously served as a former ASEAN deputy secretary general and has over thirty years of experience working across regional issues. We will start talking about ASEAN's newly-released vision out to 2045 and evolving initiatives out to the next round of regional summitry later this year . Be sure to tune in as we go through a range of other subjects,...

Our guest today is Dr. Ely Ratner who served as assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs under the Biden administration. We will start our conversation talking through contemporary developments in U.S. security relationships in the Indo-Pacific. Be sure to stay tuned as we go through a range of other subjects, including the the new administration’s coming U.S. defense strat...

Our guest today is Andrew Goledzinowski who previously served as a senior career Australian diplomat with several posts within Southeast Asia, including as ambassador to Vietnam, high commissioner to Malaysia, as well as the first assistant secretary at the Southeast Asia Regional Division. We will start our conversation talking about recent developments in Australia's ties with Southeast Asia. Be...

Our guest today is Dr. Denis Hew, who spent over a decade as the director of the research arm of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and also spent time before that in several other key economic institutions including the Asian Development Bank (ADB). We will start a conversation talking about the state of the regional economic architecture . Be sure to tune in to the full episode w...

Our guest today is Dr. Anoulak Kittikhoun, who served as the CEO of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat from 2022 to 2024 after a decade of working in the organization that is central to the subregional architecture around one of the world’s longest and largest rivers confronting a series of major geopolitical, geoeconomic and security risks. Prior to that, he held several roles, including wor...

Our guest today is Ambassador Pou Sothirak, who previously served in the Cambodian government since 1993 in various positions, including as Ambassador to Japan and Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry. We'll start our conversation talking about Cambodia's current foreign policy trajectory and neighborhood ties in mainland Southeast Asia and the Mekong subregion. Make sure you tune into the f...

Our guest today is Minister Han-koo Yeo, who was South Korea’s trade minister and a key advisor to former president Moon Jae-in who launched Seoul’s New Southern Policy towards Southeast Asia. He served for nearly three decades in public service. He was involved in talks over regional economic agreements including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framew...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Ambassador Vicky Bowman, who has over three decades of experience in international relations and business, including serving as Britain's former ambassador to Myanmar. We'll start our conversation talking about sanctions and Myanmar’s current foreign and economic links including within ASEAN . Make sure you tune into the full episode as we go through a range of othe...

INTRODUCTION [Note to the ASEAN Wonk Community: The ASEAN Wonk Team conducted an exclusive interview on February 11 with the president of The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam previewing its hosting of the upcoming ASEAN Future Forum scheduled for February 25-26. We are running this as a special episode of our ASEAN Wonk Podcast. The wide-ranging discussion covers minilaterals in the shifting regional...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Fidelis Magalhaes, who is a former minister of the presidency of the Council of Ministers in East Timor, and he has nearly two decades of policy and government experience. We start our conversation talking about the country's pursuit of full ASEAN membership and its development trajectory. Make sure you tune into the full episode as we go through a range of other su...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Bilahari Kausikan, who served as a Singapore diplomat for over three decades, including as permanent secretary of the foreign ministry, permanent Representative to the United Nations and ambassador to Russia. We start our conversation talking about how Southeast Asian countries are positioning themselves in the current global order. Make sure you watch, listen, or r...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Professor Dindo Manhit, who has been founder and managing director of the Stratbase Group in the Philippines since 2004 and previously held various roles across government, academia, and civil society across several decades. We start our conversation talking about the current state of Philippine politics and several geoeconomic and geopolitical developments in 2025...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Ambassador Scot Marciel. He spent over three decades working in the US government, including as US ambassador to Indonesia, Myanmar and ASEAN. We start our conversation talking about the current state of U.S-Southeast Asia relations . Make sure you watch, listen or read the full episode as we go through a range of other subjects, including datapoints to watch in 202...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Dato Dr. Ilango Karuppannan, who has over thirty years of experience as a distinguished Malaysian diplomat, with posts that included a high commissioner in Singapore, acting ambassador in the United States, as well as ambassador in Lebanon, where Malaysia still maintains a role in the UN peacekeeping force amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. We start our co...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Moe Thuzar, who spent a decade at the ASEAN Secretariat and previously was a diplomat as well. Now, she serves as coordinator of the Myanmar Studies Program and senior fellow at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, which is one of Southeast Asia's leading think tanks, and she previously helped head up the ASEAN studies program there as well. We will start o...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Captain Sarabjeet Parmar, who retired last June from the Indian Navy after nearly four decades of service dating back to 1987. He has written and spoken widely on a range of topics including maritime security and doctrine in the Indo-Pacific region. He currently has various affiliations including as distinguished fellow at the United Service Institution of India as...

INTRODUCTION Our guest today is Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh, who has been one of Vietnam's leading diplomats, with key posts including deputy minister in the foreign ministry, ambassador to the United States, as well as several other roles, including with Vietnam's relations with ASEAN and Asia more generally. We will start our conversation today talking about Vietnam's recent hosting of the leader...