Government
International relations
State counsellor addresses Rakhine attacks while in India
“We as a nation are struggling to make the democratic culture take root,” State Counsellor Daw Aung Suu Kyi told reporters after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 19. The state counsellor was on her first official visit to New Delhi where she attended ...
Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia eye social sciences boost
Delegates and dialogue partners from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia on October 19 discussed human resources development in the field of social sciences in the context of global integration. The talks took place at the countries’ 5th annual international conference on this issue. Speaking at the meeting, President ...
Low marks for Cambodia’s efforts to combat illicit trade
Cambodia ranked third-worst for illicit trade out of 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in a recently released index by the Economist Intelligence Unit that analysed governments’ abilities to combat illegal trade operations. The report, commissioned by the European Chamber of Commerce of Singapore, reviewed countries ...
ASEAN officials discuss way forward for greater connectivity
ASEAN dialogue partners and delegates gathered in Vientiane on October 18 to discuss ways to put the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 into action. In particular, they considered more effective coordination between sectors, among nations and within the region. Gathering at the 3/2016 ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Judges and rice: Cambodia's expanding reliance on China
Cambodia is rapidly expanding its diplomatic affair with China. Early last week it appealed to Beijing for help amid plunging rice pricesand then three days later Phnom Penh signed an MoU seeking Chinese assistance in overhauling its much maligned judiciary. The memorandum of understanding allows China ...
