Government
South East Asia emergency response team takes on region's deluge of disasters
After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, international aid poured into Southeast Asia, but in both disasters the 10-nation regional body ASEAN was conspicuously absent, says disaster expert Arnel Capili. “Those were very big events that really affected the ...
State Railway of Thailand to clarify Airport Link train purchase
The Transport Ministry on 17 September ordered the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to provide a full report on its 4.4-billion-baht purchase of seven trains for the Airport Rail Link project after the agency was accused of procurement fraud. Deputy Transport Minister Omsin Cheewapreuk asked SRT governor Wuthichart ...
Rebels warn political parties to halt election campaigns amid clashes in Myanmar’s Shan State
Armed ethnic rebels in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state have warned political parties to suspend campaigning for national elections slated for November amid ongoing clashes with the country’s military in the region, citing safety concerns.In a statement issued on 16 September, the Restoration Council of Shan ...
Indian vice president Hamid Ansari visits Laos to strengthen ties and trade
Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived in Laos on 17 September on a two-day visit. He will hold extensive talks with the Laotian leadership to deepen bilateral ties especially trade links as part of India’s Act East policy. Mr Ansari was received by Vongsavath Boupha, Minister to ...
China, Vietnam vow to promote economic ties
Visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on 17 September that Vietnam will strive to develop balanced and sustainable trade with China. Chinese enterprises are encouraged to increase investment in infrastructure and interconnectivity projects in Vietnam, said Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the China-Vietnam Economic and ...
Thai marine police claim 'self defence' in firing on Vietnamese fishermen
Thai maritime police said they opened fire on a Vietnamese fishing boat while trying to intercept another vessel in waters near Malaysia last week, a clash Vietnamese state media said killed a fisherman and wounded two others. Officials from the two countries were quoted on 16 ...
Lao, Thai to improve border anti-drug efforts
Officials from Laos and Thailand have agreed to step up cooperative efforts investigating and controlling drugs along their shared border. The officials met on 16 September in Vientiane to also discuss their previous joint work on the anti-drug problems of both nations. Chairman of the Lao National Commission ...
Chinese vice premier meets ASEAN leaders
Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on 17 September met with leaders from Thailand, Myanmar and Laos ahead of an annual expo and business summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in southwest China. They will attend the 12th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment ...
Flooding from dam washes out homes, rice fields in southern Cambodia
Local government officials in a southern Cambodian province failed to evacuate villagers in time to prevent their homes and rice fields from flooding after the operators of a Chinese-built hydropower dam informed them a day earlier that they would open the facility’s gates to release ...
B200bn stimulus at the ready
At least 200 billion baht of the government’s budget is expected to be taken out from October-December as part of efforts to ramp up public spending and tackle cooling economic expansion. In the first three months of fiscal 2016 starting Oct 1, state agencies plan ...
