Government
Aid delegation meets displaced Arakan State communities
A delegation from the United Nations, led by the under-secretary general of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visited displaced communities outside of the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on October 14. Reporters from The Irrawaddy accompanied Stephen O’Brien, who also serves as ...
China to help modernize military, defense minister says
Chinese aid and expertise—and perhaps some fighter jets—will help modernize Cambodia’s military, Defense Minister Tea Banh said on October 17 as navy vessels from China and the U.S. paid courtesy calls to Cambodia’s ports. Speaking after his return from the 7th Xiangshan Forum, a regional security summit ...
Lao, Vietnamese journalists' associations agree to strengthen ties
The Lao Journalists’ Association and Vietnam Journalists’ Association on October 17 agreed to tighten their cooperation through more discussions and training sessions. The two sides agreed to boost ties during a visit by a Lao delegation in which 11 members of the LJA, led by its ...
Is the Belt and Road Initiative globalizing China’s national security policy?
Chinese security policy experts use potential threats to BRI projects to highlight the necessity of a globalized security posture. The suicide bomb attack on the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan in August 2016 highlighted China’s rising external vulnerability in a region at the heart of its signature ...
Revenue shortfall drives budget deficit abnormally high
Revenue collection for this fiscal year reached only 95 percent of the annual plan, driving the budget deficit to 6.9 percent of gross domestic product, higher than the maximum of five percent usually adopted by the government. Economists have warned that such high deficits will increase ...
Royalties to include rentals under new Thailand-Singapore double tax rules
The New Double Tax Agreement between Thailand and Singapore becomes effective on January 1, 2017. If a Thai resident company has an outstanding rental payable to a Singaporean resident company, they should consider settling the debt before the end of 2016 in order to utilise ...
After Thai King Bhumibol's death, succession may be delayed
On October 13, news broke that Thailand’s 88-year-old king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, died after suffering complications from hemiodialysis treatment at Bangkok’s Siriraj hospital. King Bhumibol, the world’s longest reigning monarch, was revered as a demi-god and, for most Thai citizens, was the only monarch they had ...
Chinese deals help, but Cambodia needs to do more: experts
Despite strengthened economic ties following the signing of 31 agreements on October 13 between Cambodia and China, the Kingdom’s agricultural sector still needs to improve before it can fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the largest economy in the region, experts have said on October ...
China’s Xi Jinping visits King, Hun Sen
Throngs of cheering school children greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival in the capital on October 13, with balaclava-clad soldiers enforcing order and whole sections of the city shut down as he paid visits to the King and the prime minister. On his first ...
Thailand forever altered as King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies
After seven decades, the longest-serving monarch in the world has died. Southeast Asia Globe looks back at King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s reign. Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest-reigning monarch in the world and the ninth ruler in the unbroken Chakri dynasty, is dead. A reign that ...