Author: Manuel L. Quezon III

Published: 09 Apr 2026

Moribund markets roared back to life in Southeast Asia with the news on April 7 of a US-Iran two-week ceasefire. Days ahead of the ceasefire, even a hitherto big Donald Trump booster like the Hoover Institution’s Niall Ferguson had concluded: “Time is not on the side of an overstretched hegemon, because the economic costs of war pile up faster than the strategic benefits can be reaped.” The region can lick its wounds as the ceasefire plays out, but this early on, it seems clear that ASEAN can only look askance at Washington moving forward.

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The article was published by Global Asia.

The Romanian Institute for Europe-Asia Studies (IRSEA) and Global Asia Forum a Journal of East Asia Foundation. have agreed to enter into an informal agreement on republishing their studies and analysis.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or view of IRSEA.