News
Competition and bidding wars between Chinese firms impairs ASEAN trade and investment
Three years ago Chinese Premier Li Keqiang outlined a roadmap for a shared “diamond decade” in the relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and pledged to expand bilateral trade to $1 trillion and two-way investment by $150 billion by 2020. Given ...
‘A major concern’: plantation-driven deforestation ramps up in Borneo
Borneo, home to animals like orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and proboscis monkeys is also host to some of the fastest plantation expansion in the world. Now, a new study published on September 9 in Nature’s open access journal Scientific Reports examines how much of this expansion has been happening ...
How to increase REDD+ benefits to indigenous peoples and other traditional forest communities
To meet the target of limiting global warming to 2-degrees-Celsius established in the Paris Climate Agreement, it is crucial to curb tropical deforestation and encourage the reforestation of tropical forests that have already been cut down. Not only is tropical deforestation and forest degradation the source ...
New economic models sought for sustainable development
The Asian Productivity Organization has called upon global economies to explore and adopt new business models to achieve Green Productivity and long-term business sustainability for a low-carbon future. The APO, having 20-memebr economies, including Bangladesh, made the call referring to the ‘Bangkok Outcome Document’ based on ...
Emergency response in SE Asia gets a fund boost
Emergency response across South-East Asia got a shot in the arm with the 11 countries in the region establishing a fund to build preparedness for natural disasters and health emergencies. The fund aims to make health systems in the region, which is among the most disaster-prone ...
PM Modi proposes joint task force on extension of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 proposed a joint task force on connectivity to work on extension of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, while also proposing to enhance the ASEAN-India Fund with an additional grant of US $ 50 million. Speaking at ...
European companies plan to up trade, investment in ASEAN
Most European companies will increase trade and investment in an integrated Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the next five years, according to a survey, although many also expressed frustration at existing trade barriers. The 2016 EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment Survey showed that 85% of European respondents ...
Southeast Asia issues a non-rebuke to China
A summit of Southeast Asian countries issued a mild rebuke of China on September 7 over its expansionist activities in the disputed South China Sea, and indirectly urged it to show restraint and not raise tensions. In a victory for Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout, the ...
Vietnam is struggling to unite its Mekong neighbours against China
Vietnam moved rocket launchers into disputed territory in the South China Sea, reports recently suggested, meaning it could potentially attack land that China has controversially reclaimed. This all comes at a time of heightened tension over territorial wrangling in the region. A Pentagon report released in ...
The future of hydro in a warming world
People have harnessed energy from moving water for thousands of years. Greeks used various types of water wheels to grind grain in mills more than 2,000 years ago. In the late 1800s, people figured out how to harness the power to produce electricity. Throughout the ...
