The Front Row Podcast

#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: keith@frontrow65.co🎧 Listen & SubscribeSpotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

#78- Prof. Michael O' Hanlon : 250 Years of America's Defense Policy

Michael O'Hanlon is one of America's foremost defence policy scholars. He holds the Philip H. Knight Chair in Defence and Strategy and serves as Director of Research in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution, where he specialises in US defence strategy, the use of military force, and American national security policy.O'Hanlon completed all his degrees at Princeton University — a bachelor's in physics, a master's, and a PhD in international affairs — and went on to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he taught physics in French. He later served as an analyst at the Congressional Budget Office and was a member of the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board.His newest book, timed to coincide with America's 250th anniversary, is To Dare Mighty Things: US Defence Strategy Since the Revolution, published by Yale Press in 2026. You can buy a copy of his book here - https://amzn.to/4bKPmaqHis previous works include The Art of War in an Age of Peace and Military History for the Modern Strategist, among more than a dozen books spanning NATO, nuclear arms, land warfare, and US-China relations.O'Hanlon has appeared on television or spoken on radio over 4,000 times since 9/11, and his writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among many others.This is the 78th episode Of The Front Row PodcastTIMESTAMPS:00:00 — Introduction01:37 — Grand Strategy vs. Defence Strategy: What's the Difference?06:50 — George Washington's Guerrilla Instinct: How the Revolutionary War Shaped America11:45 — The Founding Fathers Were Not Minimalists15:10 — The War of 1812: Punching Up at the World's Number One Power18:50 — Was America Ever Really Isolationist?21:10 — The Uncomfortable Ethics of American Expansion30:15 — How World War II Made America a Superpower32:55 — Three Wars That Built a Nation34:30 — The Cold War Was Scarier Than We Remember37:45 — Vietnam: America's Worst War — and Why Lee Kuan Yew Still Defended It40:20 — The Cold War Was About More Than Containing Communism42:30 — The End of the Cold War: Triumph or Anxiety?46:05 — 9/11, Fear, and the Road Into Iraq49:30 — The Paradox of American Power: Winning the Grand Game While Losing the Wars51:20 — Nixon's Art of Losing Without Admitting It53:35 — Iraq: What Went Wrong and What Didn't55:15 — Trump Through a Historical Lens: A 19th-Century President in the 21st Century56:40 — If You Had 15 Minutes With Trump, What Would You Say?Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400

#77- George Yeo : How To Survive In A New Age of Chaos

George Yeo is a former Singaporean Cabinet Minister whose distinguished career in public service spanned twenty-three years. Between 1988 and 2011, he held several senior portfolios in the Singapore Government, most notably serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2011, as well as the Minister for Trade and Industry and the Minister for Information and the Arts.After retiring from politics, he transitioned into the global business arena, where he served as the Chairman of Kerry Logistics Network for several years. Today, he continues to contribute his expertise as a Senior Adviser to both the Kuok Group and Kerry Logistics.Beyond his business interests, George Yeo is a prolific intellectual and a bridge-builder between civilizations. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and a member of the Board of Trustees of Berggruen Institute. His commitment to interreligious dialogue is reflected in his long-standing service to the Vatican, where he served a member of the Council for the Economy under Pope Francis.A widely respected voice on geopolitics and Asian history, he recently authored the acclaimed three-part series, George Yeo: Musings. He remains one of the most insightful commentators on the evolving relationship between the East and the West and the future of international cooperation in a multipolar world.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Trailer & Intro 01:13 Rome to Today: World Orders Explained03:30 Why Global Stability Is Gone05:45 The New Power Poles08:00 AI and the Fragmented World10:51 Making Decisions in Chaos13:00 How to Learn Today16:30 Why the West Sees Thucydides19:00 Understanding Other Civilisations22:00 How Trust Works25:41 How To Understand China 28:00 Trump as an Agent of History31:24 What Drove the MAGA Phenomenon34:00 Can America Heal Itself?39:23 The US Dollar's Uncertain Future43:00 Gold, Bitcoin & Fiat Money46:19 Gaza, Singapore & Staying Neutral49:40 The Diplomat's Deal 51:51 Why Long-Term Thinking Wins53:15 Taiwan: Will There Be War?57:00 Cross-Strait Politics & What's Shifting59:18 What Singapore Must Become01:02:30 Singapore's Lesson 01:04:42 Balancing Global and Local01:06:18 Lessons From Public Service01:08:18 The Taoist View of Existence01:09:02 One Piece of AdviceThis is the 77th episode Of The Front Row PodcastFull transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.co

#76- Professor Wang Gungwu : "This Is How You Learn From History"

Wang Gungwu is an internationally renowned historian famed for his scholarship on the history of the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, as well as the history and civilisation of China and Southeast Asia. In his illustrious academic career, Wang has held eminent appointments in various universities and organisations around the world. He was a history professor at the University of Malaya (1963–68) and the Australian National University (1968–86), and the vice-chancellor at the University of Hong Kong (1986–95). He is currently a professor emeritus at the Australian National University and a University Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), the highest academic title conferred by NUS.This conversation was recorded at his recent book launch for his book : No Borders : Journeys Across Islands and Continents - at the National Library of Singapore.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 — Introduction0:13 — Prof Wang's Opening Speech 1:45 — "Home Is Where We Are" — Margaret's Wisdom3:15 — What Does "No Borders" Actually Mean?6:38 — How To Find Order in Chaos12:00 — Westphalia, the UN & Why Every World Order Eventually Fails19:30 — Two Ways of Writing History From The Ancients 28:00 — Why China Is Returning to Its Own Past 34:10 — Does Power Always Corrupt? The Chinese Answer35:15 — Confucius vs. the Rule of Law39:59 — Why Southeast Asia Has Stayed Surprisingly Peaceful46:52 — Wang Gungwu on His Own Craft51:09 — The Tang-Song Paradox: How China's Golden Age Planted the Seeds of Its Decline1:01:12 — Geography Shapes History, But Doesn't Determine It

#75: Ho Kwon Ping - The Coming Civilizational Reset: US, China & Singapore's Future

Thank you for checking out The Front Row Podcast and my interview with Ho Kwon Ping.Ho Kwon Ping is one of Singapore's most iconic entrepreneurs. He currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, the international spa and resort group he established in 1994. Under his leadership, Banyan Tree grew from a single resort in Phuket into a global luxury brand operating in over 30 countries. He runs the business alongside his wife and co-founder, Claire Chiang. Beyond the boardroom, Ho is known for his candid perspectives on Singaporean society, the changing global order and what he thinks Singapore needs to succeed in the coming years. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction01:37 - Singaporeans And Cultural Intelligence 07:07 - Singapore's Strength 14:10 - Maintaining A Cultural Core in a Globalized World18:21 - Cultural Intelligence vs. Cultural Identity19:52 - Redefining Luxury: Aspirational vs. Exclusive26:30 - Status Obsession 30:03 - The Coming Civilizational Reset39:43 - US and China As Civilizations 40:57 - Clashing Reference Points In Political Discourse 50:07 - Implications for Singapore in a Post-Western World57:43 - Diversifying Knowledge: AI and Non-Western Civilizations59:06 - Communitarian Capitalism 1:03:11 - Mindset Shifts for Thriving in a Messy World1:12:36 - The Price of Sovereignty 1:13:27 - Avoiding Mediocrity 1:19:50 - Building World-Class Excellence1:25:05 - Difference Between Leadership vs. Management1:32:53 - Hope for Singapore 2056This is the 75th episode of The Front Row Podcast. Full transcripts of episodes can be found here: https://www.ykeith.com/tag/podcast/Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrow.65/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/Website: www.ykeith.comEmail: keith@frontrow65.coGet access to every episode by subscribing for free on Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/keith-yap8 or Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/front-row/id1771599400