The Ladder of Babel
Issue 60 — Key Developments Across the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam
Editor’s Note
by Karen Ysabelle R. David, Lead Editor - Pacific Corridor Desk
Southeast Asia is a region of staggering linguistic diversity. The multicultural city-state of Singapore is no exception; but with the growing influence from Mainland China driving up Mandarin’s economic value across the region, is it any wonder that a hierarchy of languages has emerged?
Over in Vietnam, China also enters the conversation, but only as a point of comparison: like its larger neighbor, Vietnam’s property bubble threatens to burst. With the cost of homes rising astronomically, the government is betting on social housing to fill in the gaps.
And in the Philippines, the President’s recent State of the Nation Address was an opportunity to look back on the administration’s achievements and priorities over the past year. But behind the flashy work of national politics are epistemic communities: a network of experts involved in the less glamorous nitty-gritty of governance.
Singapore 🇸🇬
The Future of Mother Tongue in Singapore
by Jennifer Hui En Tan, in Singapore
While the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) decision to expand mother tongue elective programs beginning in 2027 appears to reaffirm Singapore’s longstanding commitment to bilingualism, the policy also arrives at a moment when the value and visibility of languages are increasingly being shaped by forces beyond the classroom. Across Singapore and the wider Southeast Asian region, migration, investments, and shifting economic relationships are changing how languages are used in everyday life, raising questions about whether education policy can continue to anchor multilingualism in an increasingly market-driven linguistic landscape.
From 2027, MOE will widen access to the Tamil Language Elective Program at both the secondary and junior college level, building on the two-year program currently offered in selected secondary schools. The Chinese Language Elective Program at the junior college level is set for a parallel expansion, and the MOE is also broadening the Malay Special Program, which lets students with a mother tongue other than Malay pick it up as a third language. These initiatives deepen opportunities for students to engage with the literature, history, and cultural traditions of Singapore’s official mother tongue languages beyond conversational proficiency.
Yet language does not evolve solely through educational policy. Increasingly, it is also being shaped by economic incentives and demographic change. The growing presence of Mainland Chinese business owners and residents has visibly increased Mandarin’s footprint in commercial spaces. Unlike classroom instruction, this expansion is driven by market demand. As businesses adapt to serve Chinese consumers and investors, Mandarin acquires an economic value that extends beyond its role as one of Singapore’s official mother tongue languages.
This creates an important distinction. Singapore’s multilingualism has historically rested on the principle that Mandarin Chinese, Malay, and Tamil should enjoy equal institutional recognition. Yet if one language becomes increasingly associated with commercial opportunity while others remain primarily tied to cultural identity, public perception of their relative value shifts. In this context, the MOE’s expansion of Tamil and Malay electives can be read as a response to this asymmetry and an attempt to keep institutional investment from lagging too far behind market-driven visibility.
Singapore’s experience also reflects a wider regional trend. Across ASEAN, governments are navigating the growing influence of English as the global language of commerce, while also responding to Mandarin’s expanding economic reach through trade, investment, and migration. In Malaysia, the constitutional primacy of Bahasa Malaysia coexists with rising enrollment in Chinese medium education and sustained demand for Mandarin, fueled by both the country’s ethnic Chinese community and deepening economic ties with China. In the Philippines, English remains dominant in business and higher education, yet Mandarin instruction has expanded through universities, language centers, and commercial demand linked to Chinese investment and tourism. In both cases, market forces increasingly shape language acquisition alongside national education policies.
The expansion of mother tongue elective programs therefore represents more than a curriculum update, and reflects an effort to ensure that cultural heritage, national identity, and linguistic diversity remain protected, even as regional economic integration and demographic change alter the languages people encounter in everyday life.
As ASEAN becomes more economically integrated and Chinese influence continues to grow across the region, language policy is likely to become an increasingly important tool of nation-building rather than simply education. Singapore’s latest reforms suggest that preserving multilingualism in the twenty-first century is no longer just about teaching languages, but is about ensuring that market forces do not become the sole arbiters of which languages carry social, cultural, and economic significance.
Jennifer is a final-year International Relations student at the Singapore Institute of Management, where she focuses on political engagement, diplomacy, and community governance. She is an active volunteer in her constituency, working closely with residents to understand local concerns, facilitate dialogue, and support community initiatives.
Vietnam 🇻🇳
Challenges in Vietnam's Property Market
by Sean Huy Vu
The People’s Committee of Hanoi recently announced that it had accepted a list of 54 new social housing projects for the current fiscal year. The developments are part of the municipal government’s larger plan to construct a minimum of 120,000 apartment units between 2026 and 2030, as city residents struggle to find affordable commercial housing.
For years, Vietnam has enjoyed a boom in its property market. This is due to increasing foreign direct investment in the country, as foreign companies build factories and subsidiaries in the Southeast Asian nation to reduce labor costs and secure their supply chains through diversification. The new service and manufacturing jobs have attracted rapid urbanization and population growth in Vietnam’s key cities, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Ninh Binh.
Vietnam’s property market, however, has also been fueled by speculation. Both foreign and domestic buyers have purchased new apartments for rent, thereby decreasing inventory and creating rising demand through panic buying and increasing prices. Many developers prefer to market toward affluent buyers to generate higher profits and cover land and development costs. Social housing and mid-range housing, by contrast, require greater approval time and regulations, thereby yielding lower profit margins.
As of 2026, the average Vietnamese home in major cities cost nearly US$300,000, over thirty times higher than the average annual income per capita of US$4,970 in 2025. There now exists an imbalance between a demand for affordable housing and a high supply of premium units. In addition to relatively low incomes, low trust in financial institutions and high interest rates for mortgages — currently ranging between 12% and 14% — are also pricing out families.
Several young urban families have opted to rent rather than purchase. One man and his wife, interviewed by The Investor, saved US$38,000 for over eight years to buy a US$132,000 apartment. However, financing the remaining US$54,000 through a mortgage proved infeasible, given that the couple would have had to spend their entire monthly income of US$1,330 on the monthly principal and interest payments.
The central government has recognized the social implications of unaffordable housing. Without accessible apartments, workers, doctors, students, and teachers will have a harder time providing their skills and services to growing cities, thereby affecting Vietnam’s target of 10% annual GDP growth.
The government has pledged to construct a million new rental social housing units by 2030, with some being provided to soldiers, civil servants, and industrial workers on a complementary basis.
At its current trajectory, Vietnam risks experiencing a property bubble burst, just as China did not too long ago. Like their Chinese counterparts, Vietnamese borrowers can service their mortgages well before construction actually begins on a project, creating a potential redundancy in real estate. Although Vietnam’s population is still growing, unlike China’s, it is already projected to become an “aged society” as early as 2036. With potentially fewer buyers in the near future, Vietnam’s government and real estate sector will have to prepare accordingly.
Sean is a scholar of East Asian history, culture, and international relations, with current research at Georgetown University examining working-class labor and human trafficking in the region. His broader interests include the social psychology of religion and identity politics. Sean previously taught modern Korean history at the University of California, Irvine, where he completed his B.A. in History, and later taught English in Ho Chi Minh City while studying Vietnamese language and culture. His writing has been published by UC Irvine, Johns Hopkins University, and Foreign Analysis.
The Philippines 🇵🇭
SONA and the Influence of Epistemic Communities
by Glenn Vincent N. Boquilon, in Angeles City
Every year, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) becomes a major moment in Philippine politics. Held last 27 July 2026 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, the SONA served as the President’s platform to present the country’s priorities and direction. Much of the public attention focuses on the President’s message and the actions his administration plans to pursue.
However, behind many government decisions are people who do not always appear in the spotlight. They are researchers, scientists, academics, and technical specialists who help leaders navigate complex problems and design better policies. Individuals in the fields of Political Science and International Relations refer to these groups as epistemic communities: a network of experts who share knowledge and provide guidance on issues that require specialized understanding. These groups do not replace elected leaders, but they do influence how governments respond to a myriad of challenges.
This is evident in the priorities discussed during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address. Several areas highlighted in the speech depend heavily on consultation with groups that possess technical prowess. One example is the government’s push for digital transformation and integration of artificial intelligence. Building a digital economy requires more than adopting new technologies. It involves understanding data protection, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and how these tools can improve public services. Researchers, technology experts, and academic institutions play an important role in helping governments make informed decisions.
The same applies to food insecurity. Improving agriculture is not only about increasing production. It requires knowledge about climate conditions, farming practices, supply chains, and changing economic conditions. Agricultural researchers help translate these challenges into policies that can benefit their communities. Another notable domain is disaster resilience. Here, expert knowledge is an essential factor. As one of the most disaster-prone countries globally, the Philippines relies on experts to understand risk and develop better preparedness strategies.
The growing importance of experts is not unique to the Philippines. Within Southeast Asia, governments are increasingly working with knowledge communities to combat national challenges. Singapore has built strong partnerships between government agencies, universities, and research institutions to support innovation and public policy. Additionally, Malaysia has strengthened cooperation between government and technical experts as it expands its digital economy. Furthermore, Vietnam has also relied on research and technical planning as it continues its economic transformation.
The rise of epistemic communities does not mean experts should replace our elected leaders. Conversely, it highlights the need for stronger partnerships between political leadership and specialized knowledge. For the Philippines, this is an important lesson, as many national challenges require solutions that go beyond one administration. The success of government is not measured only by the promises made in a speech, but by the expertise and institutions that turn those promises into results. As Southeast Asia faces more complex challenges, the countries that succeed will be those that know how to combine leadership with knowledge.
Glenn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Santo Tomas. His experience spans governance programs, policy development, and political research, having worked with the Ateneo School of Government and WR Numero Research on projects focused on electoral reform, public opinion, and regional development. He also helped coordinate the drafting of the Bangsamoro Local Government Code and supported the Academy of Multiparty Democracy.
Editorial Deadline 04/08/2026 11:59 PM (UTC +8)
