As countries scramble to secure the minerals needed for clean energy, digital technologies, AI, and defence industries, the new era of resource competition implies both great promise and grave peril.
The Trump Administration has broken with the tradition of pursuing its national interests in tandem with an emphasis on alliances and values. Southeast Asian countries will respond accordingly.
Vietnam’s stalled Chinese-backed solar factories underscore how Global South nations must demand technology transfer and value addition – not just capital inflows – from China’s expanding overseas clean-tech investments.
As climate change and great-power rivalry intensify, oceans are emerging as a geopolitical frontier – testing whether diplomacy can manage rising tensions over shipping routes, seabed minerals and fishing grounds.