Foreword

It is my pleasure to present the forty-first edition of Southeast Asian Affairs. This annual review has become an important source of information and analysis for all those interested in developments in Southeast Asia.

Despite the slow-down in China and India and sluggish growth in the developed countries, Southeast Asia still achieved a 5.4 per cent estimated economic growth rate in 2013. By the end of the year, there was optimism that growth in 2014 will pick up as external demand from the advanced economies recovers. The year 2013 was also marked by yet another of the major natural disasters that parts of the region are prone to, this time supertyphoon Haiyan which struck central Philippines and caused major losses to life and property.

The political scene in Southeast Asia presented a mixed picture. The stalemate and uncertainty in Thai politics persisted. Troubling signs appeared of Buddhist-Muslim polarization in Myanmar. However on the whole there were no big surprises, except perhaps for the electoral setback experienced by the ruling party in Cambodia. On the broader geopolitical canvas, Sino-Japanese relations were even more difficult and tense than the year before, posing a challenge to ASEAN and other powers that have been working to facilitate harmonious relations between the major players for the sake of regional stability. Tensions in the South China Sea remained contained but were by no means dissipated. Southeast Asian countries’ hopes for progress in negotiating a Code of Conduct with China did not materialize.

I would like to thank the authors and the editor as well as others who have helped to make this publication possible. Needless to say, the chapters in the volume contain a wide variety of opinions and perspectives which do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute.