Government
Myanmar military ruler to attend ASEAN summit in 1st foreign trip
Thailand has announced that the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, will attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia next week – his first known foreign trip since he seized power in a coup on February 1. Myanmar ...
Al Jazeera
Chaos in Myanmar poses threat of meth trafficking surge for Thailand
A village watchman trains his binoculars on a suspicious fishing boat – the first line of defence as Thailand braces for a fresh methamphetamine influx after a coup in neighbouring Myanmar. The kingdom’s narcotics bureau has already seized more than 80 million “yaba” pills just in ...
AFP
UNDP, OECD present corruption solutions for ASEAN
In Southeast Asia, as everywhere else, Covid-19 has fundamentally disrupted business as usual. A damaging side-effect of the pandemic on companies in the region, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is the emergence of new corruption risks – the urgent demands of emergency procurement have ...
KANNI WIGNARAJA And JEFFREY SCHLAGENHAUF
Myanmar’s Descent into Chaos to Further Fuel Mekong Drug Trade: UN
The chaos in Myanmar could see a surge in meth production across the’ Golden Triangle’, the United Nation’s organized crime agency said Tuesday, as ethnic militias seek quick cash to firm up their positions in lawless borderlands whose fragile equilibrium has been disrupted by the ...
Vijitra Duangdee
Thai, Cambodia, Vietnam Ambassadors Urge ASEAN, US support for Mekong Management
The ambassadors of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia have called for greater support from the U.S. and the ASEAN regional bloc to address urgent environmental threats to the Mekong River. They also emphasized the need for improved water data sharing by all countries on the river, ...
Seourn Vathana, VOA Khmer
Cambodia keen on Mekong diplomacy across entire region
Cambodia is committed to reinforcing the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) diplomatic mechanisms for the benefit of all six member states. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn reaffirmed the stance in a press statement on March 24. “Let me reiterate Cambodia’s commitment to reinforcing the MLC ...
Voun Dara
New report reviews China's 5-year cooperation with Mekong countries
The Blue Book of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) 2020 was released Tuesday in southwest China, marking the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the LMC mechanism. The mechanism was launched by six countries — China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam — in 2016. It derives ...
Hanoi aims to be among the top 5 Vietnamese cities in digital transformation
The Hanoi Department of Information and Communication recently drafted and submitted the city’s digital transformation programme for 2025. The programme was submitted to the municipal people’s committee. It aims to both develop a digital government, economy, society, and support digital technology businesses that can compete at an international ...
Samaya Dharmaraj
Thailand’s Ministry of Labour announces new digital academy
The Ministry of Labour launched the Digital Skill Development Academy (DISDA), a newly established unit that will oversee digital skill development for the workforce; and a new DSD application via an event entitled “Building Thailand Digital Workforce”. During the event, DISDA, in collaboration with the Thailand arm of ...
Alita Sharon
Thailand says $11M seized in wildlife trafficking sting
Thailand s anti-money laundering authorities said Wednesday they have seized or frozen more than 330 million baht ($11 million) worth of assets in a sting operation against a suspected wildlife trafficking ring. The March 12 operation targeted Boonchai Bach, a Vietnamese and Thai citizen who was arrested in 2018 ...
AP news wire