Derwin Pereira says critics wary of China’s belt and road should understand that all great powers seek to win political influence using the pull of economics. So far, Beijing has not detracted from this playbook.

"United States Vice-President Mike Pence's visit to Indonesia last week marked a welcome statement of American confidence in Indonesia and, by extension, South-east Asia.

"It is clear that, following a bruising presidential campaign and the first few wobbly weeks in power, the Trump presidency has embarked on a journey of recognition: both of itself as the pre-eminent global power, and of the stakes which regions and countries have in its ability to carry out its historical responsibilities."

Derwin Pereira says no laissez-faire principles can be prized more than the symbolic importance of Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines to each territory. Both are premium Asian airlines. Both are under pressure from upstarts in other parts of Asia and even in their own regional backyards. And both need their governments to accord them the courtesy given to national institutions.

While all the attention on US President Donald Trump has been fixated on his controversial policy moves, what should capture the world's attention is its strategic future. That future involves a new relationship between the US, Russia and China. It predicts the end of the end of the Cold War. It is Russia, however, that could emerge as the new international kingpin and the balancer of power between the US and China.

Last week's mega-rally by Muslim hardliners in Jakarta took a dramatic turn when Indonesian President Joko Widodo turned up to join the Friday prayers that ended the protest.

Derwin Pereira says among the president-elect’s foreign policy priorities, US connections to Asia appear the most tenuous, and a shift away from the region would benefit China.

Republican contender Donald Trump's shock victory in the American presidential election will unnerve Asians who believe that their future lies with the United States in the long term. What lurks ahead are at least four years of uncertainty and possible brinkmanship in American-Asian relations.

DONALD TRUMP must not win the American presidential election. The United States owes this much to the rest of the world -- and, indeed, to itself.
The stakes are unnervingly high in this election. The US is faced with an existential choice between the best and the worst in its chequered contemporary history. The choice is not between Republican and Democratic America. The choice is between America as it, and a new America in a darker world.

Derwin Pereira says it matters to the region how the issues of Sino-US relations, trade and America’s security partnerships will feature in the face-off between the candidates for president of the United States.

The East Asia Summit, to be held in Vientiane early next month, offers U.S. President Barack Obama an opportunity to showcase his legacy to America's relations with the Asia-Pacific.