#79- Professor Selina Ho : ASEAN'S Playbook For An Evolving Global Order

Professor Selina Ho is Vice Dean (Research and Development), Dean’s Chair, and Associate Professor in International Affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on Chinese politics and foreign policy, with a particular interest in how China wields power and influence through infrastructure and water disputes in Southeast Asia and South Asia.Her work sits at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations. Her book, Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia, is widely regarded as a definitive text on the Belt and Road Initiative in the region.TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Trailer00:52 — Introduction01:21 — Why Southeast Asia Matters to Both Superpowers04:25 — Will Trump Turn His Back on the Region?09:41 — The Fear of US Abandonment14:17 — How Southeast Asia Actually Sees China18:37 — Chinese Influence vs. Chinese Dominance21:37 — Wolf Warrior Diplomacy in China29:11 — The Belt and Road33:47 — When China Owns Your Power Grid: The Laotian Lesson37:44 — China Wants Regional Dominance40:16 — How ASEAN Elites Actually Respond to Chinese Influence43:06 — What Regional Decision-Makers Really Think47:31 — ASEAN Centrality51:52 — Why ASEAN Is Strong on Trade and Weak on Security55:15 — Building an ASEAN Identity01:00:19 — What Singapore Should Do With Its 2027 ASEAN Chairmanship01:01:46 — Advice for a Fresh Graduate Entering the Working WorldThis is the 80th episode of The Front Row Podcast.📄 Research Paper“Elite Perceptions of a China-Led Regional Order in Southeast Asia”https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/18681034241294093#table2-18681034241294093📜 Full Transcriptshttps://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Connect & FollowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: [email protected]🎧 Listen & SubscribeSpotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400