Government
International relations
China Pushes Free-Trade Zone in Mekong Region with Thailand, Laos
As the trade war with the U.S. intensifies, China is looking to strengthen commercial ties with countries in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia by setting up a free-trade zone on the border between Thailand and Laos. In the planned zone, Beijing will waive tariffs ...
Myanmar agrees smaller deal for China-backed port after 'debt-trap' concern
Myanmar on Thursday signed an agreement with China’s state-run CITIC Group to begin work on a deep-sea port in the west of the country, after negotiations that saw the initial phase of the project scaled back over fears of a “debt trap”. Myanmar Deputy Minister of ...
Who should be afraid of the Belt and Road? China
As a line on a map, Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link makes sense. Slashing diagonally across the peninsula from Port Klang at one end to the port of Kuantan and towns north at the other, the project looks well-situated to encourage travel and commerce, and ...
China and Japan’s power struggle is good news for Southeast Asia
The Japan-China rivalry in Southeast Asia is good for the economic development and strategic autonomy of Southeast Asian states. This is particularly so for the poorer countries of the region that harbour the greatest fears of becoming solely dependent on China. Keep reading ...
Rohingya crisis, Suu Kyi under the microscope at Southeast Asia summit
The customary cordiality of Southeast Asian summits may be missing when the region’s leaders meet next week due to sharp differences over Myanmar, whose military has been accused of genocide against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. Keep reading ...
China Focus: Wider opening-up brings closer ties with Asian neighbors
A grain of jasmine rice “jumps” to a freighter in Cambodia. It, together with thousands of its companions, will arrive in China in about a week. The jasmine rice from Cambodia sells very well in Yunnan, a border province in southwestern China. As a gateway ...
Myanmar-Laos border gate receives international status
The border gate between Myanmar and Laos has been upgraded and given international status, according to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population. The ministry has upgraded the Wan Pong check point in Tachilek, Shan State, making it an international border entry point for Myanmar ...
What does Chinese ‘reciprocity’ mean for Mekong’s dams?
China is exploring new ways to cooperate over water with Mekong countries, but any agreement must address civil society and environmental concerns, argues Carl Middleton. Keep reading ...
Why the Mekong matters
China’s growing influence – through its new multilateral institution – is reshaping the environmental and economic future of Southeast Asia. The countries of the Mekong should build a “community of shared future”, said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in December last year. Keep reading ...
What’s in the First Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Trilateral Border Exchange?
Later this week, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia will hold the first iteration of a new trilateral border exchange between them in Vietnam. Though the event was just one among many developments within the management of border relations between these countries, its significance nonetheless bears noting ...
