Singapore's former senior diplomat talks about the new realities Southeast Asia has to face and how the forgotten Indonesian adage of 'national resilience enhances regional resilience (vice versa)' now rings truer than ever.

Mr. Bilahari Kausikan is the Chairman of the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. Mr. Kausikan was Permanent Secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2013. He was subsequently Ambassador-at-Large until May 2018. His earlier appointments at the Ministry include Deputy Secretary for South-east Asia, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and Ambassador to the Russian Federation.