Government
China protests to Myanmar after landmine injures official
China said on 5 January it had lodged a protest with Myanmar after one of its border officials was blown up by a landmine after going to investigate an earlier explosion close to the frontier with the Kokang region of Shan State. A spokesperson for the Chinese ...
Three holdouts cloud ASEAN's future of open skies
ASEAN’s ambitious open-skies scheme has clearly missed the 2015 year-end deadline, and its full implementation appears elusive. Three members of the 10-nation bloc — Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos– seem reluctant to join the scheme for full liberalisation of Southeast Asia’s aviation sector. Keep reading ...
Thailand plans 2m more tonnes of G-to-G rice sales
The Thai government aims to sell over 2 million tonnes of rice this year on a government-to-government (G-to-G) basis. But it admits a renewed attempt to sell rice to Iran may hit a snag because of escalating political conflict in the Middle East. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Commerce Ministry permanent ...
Thailand Post keen to cross borders
Thailand Post is launching a major expansion of its cross-border trading and e-commerce services for Indochina to become a leading regional player by year-end. The state postal enterprise hopes parcel delivery service crossing the Cambodian and Laotian borders to reach Chinese consumers has a bright future, ...
Lao businesses struggling in AEC
It is essential to improve the level of professionalism in the business sector to enable local operators to survive the rising tide of competition, leading entrepreneurs have suggested. The establishment of the ASEAN Community on 31 December, in particular the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), introduces the free flow ...
Military accused of ceasefire breach
In the first reported breach of the nationwide ceasefire agreement, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) has accused the government of violating the terms of the accord by attacking its forces in the southeast of the state. Colonel Sai La, spokesperson for the Shan State ...
Party advises Youth Union on its political role
The Party Central Committee has called on the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union’s (Youth Union) committees at all levels to uphold their political responsibilities and actively implement the Party’s directives, to ensure today’s youth develop strong political attributes. Member of the Politburo and Party Central Committee ...
Vietnam army concessions are ‘unconstitutional’
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has levelled further criticism at the Vietnamese army’s alleged control of 40,000 hectares of economic land concessions (ELCs) in Ratanakkiri province, claiming that the grants are in violation of the Cambodian constitution. Transferred over 2011 and 2012 to Vietnamese companies Veasna Investment, ...
ASEAN: Ten become one
With the arrival of the new year, Southeast Asia has finally embarked on an important new journey that has been years in preparation. The hope is that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will bring a new era of growth, though many say there won’t be conspicuous changes ...
Chinese vessel sank fishing boat in Vietnamese waters: authorities
Border guards in Quang Tri Province have confirmed that a Chinese steel fishing vessel rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat off Quang Tri, VTC News reported. Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huy Tho of the Quang Tri Border Guard Command said the sinking occurred around 40 ...
