News
Chinese-owned banana plantations expand in Laos despite lingering environmental and health concerns
In 2017, the Lao government ordered the closure of the country’s Chinese-owned banana farms following reports of pollution and workers falling ill after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Firms already operating in the country were allowed to stay open until their contracts expired. The ban prohibited ...
Oliver Ward
ASEAN’s Role on Rakhine: Big Outside, Little Known in Myanmar
From the outside, ASEAN has been testing the limits of its non-interference policy in ways never done before, being a diplomatic bridge to Myanmar while pressing it to address international criticism for its treatment of its Rohingya minority. But from inside Myanmar, ASEAN’s role in ...
Aung Zaw Min
'Barbaric' snares are wiping out Southeast Asia's wild animals
Across Southeast Asia, wild animals are being hunted out of existence to feed growing demand for bushmeat, according to conservationists. Thomas Gray, science director with conservation group Wildlife Alliance, which operates in Cambodia, says that snares — simple traps made of wire and rope — have become the single biggest ...
Sarah Lazarus
Dying for land in Lao?
Reports recently surfaced revealing that 69-year-old Thitphay Thammavong had been arrested in Lao last month on 16 September. His crime? According to his family members, he had refused to sign papers that would give up control of his 1.5-hectare plot of land near Viengkham village ...
Sheith Khidhir
Deforestation threatens the Mekong, but new trees are growing in surprising places
More than 70 million people live in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, where trees and forests have multiple benefits for people and biodiversity. Trees lock soils in place, preventing landslides and protecting crops, while forests help regulate rainfall and water cycles. Wood and other forest products provide millions ...
Water war risk rising on the Mekong
The Mekong River, a waterway that originates in China and snakes through five Southeast Asian countries, is emerging as a new security flashpoint, similar in dynamic to escalating conflicts in the South China Sea. China has built 11 dams and has plans for another eight along ...
David Hutt
Cybersecurity Emergency Response Center established
The Ministry of Information and Communications has decided to establish the Viet Nam Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams/Coordination Center (VNCERT/CC). The center is located in the capital city of Ha Noi and has two branches in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City. The establishment of the ...
Dams a threat to Mekong
Almost a decade ago, Vietnam was the most vocal neighbour in opposing Laos’ first dam on the Mekong River. Now, it has become a partner in the Lao government’s Luang Prabang dam project — its fifth on the mighty river. This new partnership is worrying, ...
Toxic wait must end
The change in the composition of the National Hazardous Substances Committee (NHSC), which regulates use of three harmful farm chemicals — paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos — could add complications to a move to have the trio banned. The new composition under the Industry Ministry permanent secretary ...
Lao Man, 69, Arrested for Refusing to Give Up Land His Family Has Held Since 1965
An elderly man in Laos was detained last month for refusing to give up land that had been in his family since 1965, family members said. Thitphay Thammavong, 69, was arrested on September 16 after declining to sign papers that would cede control of his 1.5 ...
