Jakarta's calm acceptance of Japan's new military policy reveals a desire to keep its options open when it comes to regional rivalries, not least Sino-US relations

Fourteen years after al-Qaeda redrew the religious map of the world, it has receded from the global frontlines. However, it has been replaced by a stronger subversive entity, the Islamic State (IS), proving how hard it is to put the genie of terror back into the bottle.

This General Election was not only about material issues. Deeply ingrained psychological traits in the electorate worked to give the People's Action Party (PAP) its strong mandate. Key among those traits is an almost biological dispensation towards insecurity, born of Singapore's small size, its lack of natural resources and its acute vulnerability in a Darwinian global order.

AS the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) destabilises the Middle East, South-east Asia is likely to become the second front of the war on terror again. More than any other country, Indonesia will play a key role in keeping the region safe.

PRESIDENTIAL elections were a parlour game under former Indonesian strongman Suharto, writes Derwin Pereira. His fall in 1998 inaugurated democratic elections, to which Indonesians took with gusto. However, traces of the old order remained in the largely elite backgrounds of presidential contenders. The victory of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the hugely popular governor of Jakarta, announced after a recount, breaks with that tradition.

Chinese actions in maritime Asia are raising questions about American willingness and ability to act decisively in the region. That ambiguity is bad news for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), traditionally dependent on the U.S. security umbrella and more recently enjoying rapid expansion of trade with China.

INDONESIA'S democratic consolidation took a step forward with the nomination of Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as the presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle. The presidential election, which will be held in July following parliamentary elections next month, could be expected to entrench the political gains made in the vast South-east Asian archipelagic state since the downfall of the autocrat Suharto in 1998.

"AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Tony Abbott's imperious dismissal of Indonesian complaints over spying betrays profound ignorance of the new realities of Asia of which Indonesia is an integral part," writes Derwin Pereira, "to say nothing of diplomatic protocol."

"[O]ne reason why the US shutdown attracted so much opprobrium is that most countries know that they would not be able to withstand a comparable crisis. It is the hidden solidity of the American political system - based on the degree to which the populace has been socialised into the capacious norms of permissible dissent and protest - which other countries envy in the American way of life."

IT WOULD not be an exaggeration to say that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally (NDR) speech last Sunday marked a high point in his political career. The communicator in him literally took centre stage, forcefully but unobtrusively. His speech displayed an almost seamless combination of the three characteristics of good political communication: clarity of the message, sureness of style, and genuine empathy with the audience.