Government
Pushback against BRI in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian nations are pushing back against China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), wary of Beijing’s creeping influence and unmanageable debts. Japan and India are seeking to capitalize on this setback and bolster their presence in the region, but standing up to Beijing could carry ...
Asean May See Divisions Amid Heightened U.S.-China Competition: Analysts
In the two decades since Asean was formed, it has failed to uphold its original mandate of maintaining cohesion among its members, experts have said. The rise of China, the United States’ uncertain position on the region and instability in its member states have led some ...
5 years on, the Belt and Road Initiative's contribution to Asian integration
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, calling for economic cooperation focused on connectivity and aimed at achieving win-win outcomes. The BRI is an example of China’s determination to support globalization as the world faces uncertainties, such as rising protectionist ...
Can Southeast Asia weather a trade war?
In the face of growing economic protectionism, undergirded by a trade tiff between the United States (US) and China, Southeast Asian economies are bracing for the impact from a possible economic fallout. Over the past few months, US President Donald Trump has not minced his ...
MTCO heading for legal status
As 475 delegates gathered, last week, at the Mekong Tourism Forum its leaders – members of the Greater Mekong Sub-region group – were pondering over the ticklish issue of the office’s legal status. Keep reading ...
Myanmar will ask China to downsize project, minister says
Myanmar will seek to reduce the scale of a China-led special economic zone project in its western state of Rakhine, Planning and Finance Minister Soe Win said in an exclusive interview. Keep reading ...
At Thailand-Laos Border, A Shadow Economy Thrives
A silhouette of the casino’s golden domes and gaudy crown appears in the distance, standing out like a sore thumb against the landscape of lush tropical hills in this northwestern corner of Laos. The Ton Pheung district is part of a special economic zone (SEZ) ...
How Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is changing the region
For Seng Voleak, a 23-year-old bank employee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, her commute home has become easier thanks to buses donated by China. []Meanwhile, a raft of projects within the LMC framework are well under way, such as the Kunming-Bangkok Road, China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand Railway, Long ...
Facebook fixed map wrongfully depicting Việt Nam’s territory as Chinese
Facebook had fixed a map wrongfully depicting Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelagoes as Chinese territory after the Vietnamese government made complaint about the mistake on Sunday. Keep reading ...
Regional media raises cooperation, tourism promotion to new level
Media organisations from the six Mekong-Lancang River countries have signed cooperation agreements to promote mutual benefits from media cooperation, enhance promotion for regional tourism and the development of new media. Keep reading ...
