Government

An example of a resilient business model in hard times? Indeed, except that this describes how the synthetic drug industry has been expanding in East and Southeast Asia, home to the Mekong region which is the manufacturing and trafficking hub that supplies illicit drugs that ...

Antony Blinken, the United States top diplomat, has expressed “deep concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar, calling on Southeast Asian nations to take action to end violence and restore democracy in the country. Blinken made the appeal during a meeting with foreign ministers of the ...

Customs agents in southwest China have seized 2.2 tonnes of pangolin scales and busted an endangered wildlife smuggling gang, state media reported. Two suspects were detained in the city of Yulin in Guangxi by customs officers, who also seized two kilograms of pangolin paws, the People’s Daily said ...

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has expressed support for a Southeast Asian diplomatic effort to end the political crisis in Myanmar. Speaking during a visit to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Lavrov said the Five Point Consensus agreed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc ...

Following allegations of corruption over a local government’s exorbitant purchases on decorative street lamps, Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating and say procurements of the street lamps in a province just outside Bangkok were not in line with regulations. More than 20 people and ...

It has been quick to spot opportunities and reduce risks, thriving despite COVID-19. In its own brand of regional integration, it has been connecting the dots across the lower Mekong region as it carves out new ways to cross borders and reach its customers in ...

Economic development zones in mainland Southeast Asia have contributed to a range of illicit activities, including drug trafficking and wildlife trafficking, according to a new report from C4ADS, a U.S.-based research organization. The report, which analyzes 110 economic development zones (EDZs) in the five lower Mekong nations – ...

Law enforcement authorities from China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand joined forces Tuesday (June 23) for the 106th Mekong River joint patrol. Three Chinese vessels departed from Jingha Port in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China’s Yunnan Province for the patrol. Law enforcement officers from the four ...

For Southeast Asian countries, the meaning of regional connectivity and integration goes beyond their vision of development and economic progress. Interconnectedness also applies when discussing disasters and environmental degradation. One example is transboundary haze, the top-of-mind term for the raging forest fires on Sumatra or Kalimantan ...

The state-run Electricite Du Lao (EDL) and Vientiane Water Supply State Enterprise have cut power and water tariffs by three and five percent respectively to help people cope with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The reduced tariffs, which will be valid for three months, will ...