Asia’s AI policy landscape combines binding laws, national development plans, sector rules and voluntary guidance. These instruments serve different purposes. This tracker separates their legal status and source dates rather than rank jurisdictions on a single scale of permissiveness.
Sources checked: 31 October 2026. This review covers the principal instruments listed below; it is not an exhaustive inventory of sectoral obligations. Indonesia and Thailand retain explicit enactment-verification gaps. Next quarterly review due: 31 January 2027, or earlier after a material legal change.
Where can I find each Asian country’s official AI policy?
The table links to selected official laws, strategies and government status statements. A publication or strategy date is not necessarily a legal commencement date. Drafts remain labelled as drafts unless an enacted text has been verified.
| Market | Principal instrument | Status | Lead authority / bodies | Source date or commencement | Official sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | AI+ action (2025); AI service/content rules | Industrial strategy plus binding service rules | State Council; CAC and other competent regulators | 26 August 2025; companion-service rules effective 15 July 2026 | Principal source; Supporting source; Supporting source |
| Japan | AI Promotion Act (2025); AI Basic Plan (July 2026) | Promotion law and adopted basic plan | Cabinet Office / AI Strategic Headquarters | Current basic plan adopted 14 July 2026 | Principal source |
| South Korea | AI Basic Act; AI Action Plan 2026–2028 | AI Basic Act in force; action plan adopted | MSIT; Presidential AI strategy bodies | Act effective 22 January 2026; plan finalised 25 February 2026 | Principal source; Supporting source |
| Taiwan | Artificial Intelligence Basic Act | Basic Act in force | National Science and Technology Council; sector authorities | Promulgated and effective 14 January 2026 | Principal source |
| India | IndiaAI Mission; AI Governance Guidelines (2025); IT Rules amendments on synthetic content (2026) | Government mission and governance guidelines | MeitY / IndiaAI; relevant sector regulators | Mission approved 7 March 2024; guidelines unveiled 5 November 2025; synthetic-content labelling rules in force 20 February 2026 | Supporting source; Principal source |
| Vietnam | Law 134/2025/QH15; Decree 142/2026/NĐ-CP | AI Law and implementing decree in force | Ministry of Science and Technology | Law effective 1 March 2026; decree effective 1 May 2026 | Principal source; Implementation |
| Singapore | NAIS 2.0; May 2026 update; agentic AI framework | National strategy and governance guidance | National AI Council; Smart Nation; IMDA and sector regulators | NAIS 2.0 December 2023; strategy update May 2026 | Principal source; Supporting source |
| Malaysia | AI Nation 2030 / National AI Action Plan 2026–2030; draft AI Governance Bill | National action plan; infrastructure approval policy; AI Governance Bill drafted, Cabinet review pending | Ministry of Digital / National AI Office; MIDA and relevant approval bodies | 2026–2030 action plan; 2026 infrastructure approval statements | Principal source; Supporting source |
| Indonesia | Draft AI roadmap 2026–2029 and ethics presidential regulations | Presidential-regulation drafts; enactment not confirmed in this review | Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) | Awaiting presidential signature as of 4 September 2026; not enacted by 31 October 2026 | Principal source |
| Thailand | National AI strategy; draft AI legislation | National strategy; AI bill under development in checked official source | MDES / ETDA; other relevant agencies | Full draft AI Act released for public hearing July 2026 (not yet submitted to Cabinet); policy priorities 12 October 2026 | Principal source; Supporting source |
| Philippines | National AI Strategy Roadmap 2.0 | National strategy roadmap | Department of Trade and Industry / CAIR; partner agencies | 2024 roadmap; official strategy framework checked 31 October 2026 | Principal source |
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What is China’s AI policy in 2026?
China combines industrial promotion with binding rules for particular AI services. The State Council’s August 2025 AI+ action promotes adoption across science, industry, consumption and public services. That strategy is distinct from the rules that govern deployed services. The amended Cybersecurity Law, adopted on 28 October 2025 and in force from 1 January 2026, also adds China’s first AI clause (Article 20) on AI development and safety supervision (Haynes Boone).
The AI-generated content labelling measures and the rules for anthropomorphic interactive services are concrete compliance instruments. The latter took effect on 15 July 2026. Open-weight distribution does not itself exempt a deployed service from applicable regulation.
Sources: Official source; Official source; Official source.
Related DIA coverage: China’s AI strategy and Chinese models in Southeast Asia.
What is Japan’s AI Promotion Act?
Japan’s AI Promotion Act is a 2025 law. The Cabinet adopted its first AI Basic Plan on 23 December 2025 and a second-phase plan on 14 July 2026. The July plan is the latest milestone in the Cabinet’s published plan history.
This is a promotion and governance framework. Existing data, copyright, consumer-protection and sector rules continue to apply. Comparing national policies by a single label such as “most permissive” obscures those separate obligations.
Sources: Official source.
What is South Korea’s 2026–2028 AI Action Plan?
South Korea’s AI Basic Act and Enforcement Decree took effect on 22 January 2026. MSIT announced a regulatory grace period of at least one year and a support desk for businesses. That implementation measure is separate from the law’s commencement date.
The 2026–2028 AI Action Plan was finalised on 25 February 2026 and contains 99 tasks. Its industrial-development agenda sits alongside the Act’s safety, transparency and high-impact AI provisions; it is misleading to describe the whole framework as promotion alone.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
What is Taiwan’s AI Basic Act?
Taiwan’s Artificial Intelligence Basic Act was promulgated on 14 January 2026 and takes effect from promulgation. Article 2 names the National Science and Technology Council as the central competent authority. MODA has a specific role in the risk-classification framework, alongside sector regulators; it is not the Act’s overall lead authority.
The law sets principles and government responsibilities, including human oversight, privacy, transparency and accountability. Article 18 provides a two-year period for reviewing relevant laws and administrative measures. That is an institutional implementation requirement, not a blanket two-year compliance exemption for every business.
Sources: Official source.
What is India’s IndiaAI Mission?
The IndiaAI Mission was approved on 7 March 2024. Its scope includes compute, datasets, skills, startup financing, indigenous models and safe, trusted AI—not only funding language models. Separately, the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules 2026, notified on 10 February and in force from 20 February 2026, require labelling and provenance markers for synthetically generated content and three-hour takedowns of unlawful content (Hogan Lovells, 13 February 2026).
MeitY unveiled the India AI Governance Guidelines on 5 November 2025. These set out seven guiding principles, institutional recommendations and implementation actions, with an emphasis on using existing laws where possible. The guidelines are policy guidance rather than a standalone comprehensive AI statute.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
What is Vietnam’s AI Law in 2026?
Vietnam’s AI Law took effect on 1 March 2026. Article 14 requires foreign providers of high-risk systems to have a Vietnamese legal point of contact; commercial presence or an authorised representative is required for systems subject to mandatory conformity certification. This is narrower than a blanket local-entity requirement for all foreign providers.
For systems already operating before commencement, Article 35 allows 18 months for healthcare, education and finance, and 12 months for other systems. The Ministry of Science and Technology leads AI state management. Decree 142/2026/NĐ-CP supplies implementing detail and took effect on 1 May 2026.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
Related DIA coverage: Vietnam’s AI Law explained.
What is Singapore’s AI governance framework?
Singapore launched NAIS 2.0 in December 2023, not late 2024. A National AI Council was established in February 2026, and the May 2026 strategy update sets out ten refreshed priorities.
IMDA launched the Model AI Governance Framework for Agentic AI on 22 January 2026. Its focus includes bounded autonomy, human accountability and controls across the agent lifecycle. These governance frameworks provide guidance; their existence should not be confused with a single comprehensive AI statute or an exemption from applicable sectoral law.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
What is Malaysia’s AI data centre policy?
Malaysia’s policy picture now includes AI Nation 2030, the National AI Action Plan 2026–2030, led through the Ministry of Digital and National AI Office. The action plan provides the current national policy direction. On 10 September 2026, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the draft AI Governance Bill was complete and would go to Cabinet, with tabling targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027 (Malay Mail, 10 September 2026). On 29 October 2026 he told Parliament the bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in early 2027 (Life News Agency, 30 October 2026, citing the parliamentary reply).
For data centres, MIDA’s 2026 investment release describes approval criteria including secured power and water, green compliance and support for local supply chains. Those conditions qualify the government’s AI-priority direction; an “AI-only” slogan alone does not describe the complete permitting requirements.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
Related DIA coverage: Malaysia’s AI compute hub.
What is Indonesia’s AI regulation plan?
Komdigi’s 28 July 2026 statement says the AI roadmap and ethics presidential regulations had completed cross-ministry drafting and were awaiting presidential enactment. The roadmap covers 2026–2029. As of 4 September 2026, Komdigi said both regulations were still awaiting the President’s signature, and no enacted instrument had been published by 31 October 2026 (Selular.id, 4 September 2026).
This review has not established a promulgated instrument number or commencement date for those drafts. The official drafting milestone does not by itself establish that either instrument is in force.
Sources: Official source.
What is Thailand’s AI policy structure?
Thailand’s AI policy extends beyond data-centre investment incentives. In July 2026 ETDA released a full draft AI Act for public hearing, with risk tiers, extraterritorial scope, content-marking duties and fines of THB 1–5 million; consultation closed on 14 August 2026 and the draft had not been submitted to the Cabinet by October 2026 (Tilleke & Gibbins; Rajah & Tann). This is a drafting process, not an enacted AI Act.
In October 2026, the government set out three priorities: building AI capabilities, applying AI across businesses and public services, and broadening access to its benefits. A final Act and commencement date were not verified in this review.
Sources: Official source; Official source.
What is the Philippines’ National AI Strategy Roadmap 2.0?
The Philippines’ National AI Strategy Roadmap 2.0 targets AI research and industrial adoption, workforce readiness and responsible governance. Its framework covers innovation and implementation and explicitly addresses ethics, privacy, transparency and accountability.
The roadmap is a national strategy, rather than an enacted comprehensive AI law.
Sources: Official source.
How is ASEAN coordinating AI policy?
ASEAN has eleven members following Timor-Leste’s accession on 26 October 2025. Its policy toolkit includes the 2024 AI Governance and Ethics Guide, the 2025 generative-AI expansion and Responsible AI Roadmap, and the declaration establishing an ASEAN AI Safety Network. These coordination instruments should not be presented as one directly applicable regional AI law. The Hanoi Digital Declaration, adopted at the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting on 16 January 2026, commits members to harmonising AI policy through the Working Group on AI Governance and the ASEAN AI Safe Network (Viet Nam News, 16 January 2026).
National laws and sector regulators remain important when assessing obligations in each market. Regional guidance can support alignment without making those obligations identical.
Sources: ASEAN digital-sector documents; ASEAN membership; AI Safety Network declaration.
Which Asian country has the most advanced AI policy in 2026?
There is no single defensible winner without specifying the criterion. An industrial strategy, an enforceable statute, a testing framework and a sector-specific rule are different policy tools. The useful comparison is what is in force, who administers it, which systems it covers and what implementing instruments remain outstanding.
For this review, Indonesia’s presidential-regulation enactment and Thailand’s final AI statute remain explicitly unconfirmed. These gaps should be resolved against published legal texts before a draft is reclassified.
Update log — 31 October 2026: corrected dates and authorities; separated strategies, guidance, drafts and laws; added current strategy milestones; removed unsupported market statistics and penalty claims; aligned the separately stored FAQ data.
