The Aporia
The Aporia
Beltran, S. (2026, October 5). Southeast Asia starts to rethink its AI data centre boom: ‘at what cost?’. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3369788/southeast-asia-starts-rethink-its-ai-data-centre-boom-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed
Beltran, Sam. “Southeast Asia starts to rethink its AI data centre boom: ‘at what cost?’.” South China Morning Post, 5 Oct. 2026, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3369788/southeast-asia-starts-rethink-its-ai-data-centre-boom-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed.
Beltran, Sam. “Southeast Asia starts to rethink its AI data centre boom: ‘at what cost?’.” South China Morning Post, October 5, 2026. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3369788/southeast-asia-starts-rethink-its-ai-data-centre-boom-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed.
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Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia are reconsidering their rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers due to significant challenges such as power grid strain in Malaysia. Policy researcher Mark Manantan, from the Centre for Global Security at La Trobe University, highlights that while there is enthusiasm to attract investments, it raises questions about both cost and pace. Political economist Alvin Camba, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, explains that governments initially pushed hard for data center investment because these centers bring in substantial financial support and help develop cloud and AI infrastructure, with concerns over being outpaced by competitors driving their eagerness.
