The Association of South East Asian Nations faces heat for its “weak” stance on Myanmar’s crackdown, drawing observers to question the group’s power.

The UN Security Council is divided on Myanmar even as the country’s military regime steps up violence.

A spate of rare protests against Myanmar’s military regime has raised hopes among democracy activists for renewed international pressure for political reforms.

Violence, corruption charges, and prominent personalities color voting in Filipino elections. The results could determine the staying power of President Arroyo.

Annual U.S.-Thai military exercises get underway amid U.S. concerns over governance, intellectual property rights, and an insurgency in Thailand.

In some South and Southeast Asia countries, worrisome signs of a slide toward militarism in a region where democracy had planted some roots.

Two years ago, some 230,000 people died in the Indian Ocean tsunami. Yet billions of dollars in reconstruction and relief aid later, a fail-safe regional tsunami warning system has failed to materialize. 

After three decades of conflict, a peace deal continues to hold in the Indonesian province of Aceh, which held its first direct elections last week. The likely new governor, a former rebel leader, counts poverty and militant Islam among his challenges.

An economically thriving Vietnam is on the verge of becoming a World Trade Organization (WTO) member, but a holdup in U.S. Congress threatens to stall Hanoi’s accession bid.

The Thai military staged a coup on Tuesday to overthrow Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been the target of widespread protests and corruption allegations since an April election.

Australia, once considered a minor power, increasingly plays a more prominent role in the Pacific Rim. As Canberra pursues a policy of creating stability across the region, Australian troops are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in East Timor and the Solomon Islands. But not everyone is thrilled with Australia's new prominence.

East Timor had been the feel-good story of UN nation-building. But success was declared far too early and international forces are once again necessary to restore stability in the world's newest state.

Pro-democracy protests in Nepal are the latest manifestations of "people power" in Asia, preceded by demonstrations in Thailand and the Philippines.

Residents of the Indonesian island of Papua have been protesting exploitation by Jakarta. Experts say momentum from the recent Aceh peace agreement has opened the door to peace in Papua.

Snap elections in Thailand brought no clear end to the ongoing political turmoil, as embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's party failed to gain enough votes to form a new parliament.

A state of emergency and arrests of senior military officers is testing The Philippines' fragile democracy, which marked a somber and tense 20th anniversary over the weekend.

Robert D. Blackwill and Graham T. Allison say the United States should look to Lee Kuan Yew for guidance on China.

Richard N. Haass argues that many of the same issues that we faced in 2012 will continue to be problematic in 2013.

Joshua Kurlantzick suggests that the interethnic conflict in Rakhine State in western Myanmar is symptomatic of the larger challenges the country faces as it transitions from absolute military rule to democracy.

Joshua Kurlantzick reviews King Bhumibhol Adulyadej: A Life's Work and examines how, in Thailand and elsewhere, royal reverence has hampered democracy.