Southeast Asia is the comeback kid, says Manu Bhaskaran, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore and a partner at Washington DC-based advisor Centennial Group. Addressing members of the Asia Society in Hong Kong, he says that despite some dire news headlines, the region's political stability and economic restructuring has improved enough to allow it to adapt to competitive challenges from China and India.
Southeast Asia is not a loser - yet, he says.
Take political risks first. Despite the horrors of the second Bali bombing, Indonesia has been able to isolate terrorist cells, reducing the scale of damage they can achieve....