Three significant events have led Russia to lose its previously held influence on Azerbaijan and the broader South Caucasus: Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh victory, the prolonged war in Ukraine, and its loss of a key ally in Syria. These developments have also shifted the balance of power in the South Caucasus, with Azerbaijan positioning itself a

Rubio’s trip is the best window since the Trump-Biden transition for ASEAN to reclaim balance, trust, and agency in U.S. relations. To delay this pivot is to risk falling deeper into asymmetric dependency on China economically, strategically, and politically. ASEAN’s future depends on bold recalibration and that starts now, in Kuala Lumpur. Thi

strengths in semiconductor and critical minerals to jointly benefit both Kuala Lumpur and Washington. Other economic and defence friendshoring efforts in courting other Western partners and strengthening ties with other non-Western players in the efforts to diversify and move away from US periphery do not and will not yield returns in the short ter

Rubio’s presence creates this long lost opportunity for the region to rebuild its most important ties by all measures economically and in security assurance, failing to do so will see the region falling deeper into the strategic mistake of its self imposed safe play and hedging mantra, all while being pulled closer to Beijing’s orbit. ASEAN and

Rubio’s presence is thus seen as a smart move in maintaining the equilibrium for these regional players to feel compelled to increase their efforts, to limit their economic pivot to China and BRICS, while allowing space and time for them to show their mutual sincerity through their tariff negotiations and adjustments and in reminding them that ju