The Diplomat
Thailand’s ASEAN Chair Challenge in 2019
On November 15 at the recent ASEAN Summit in Singapore, the symbolic gavel of the rotating ASEAN chairmanship was handed from Singapore to Thailand ahead of the official start as ASEAN chair in 2019. While Bangkok is no stranger to chairing ASEAN as one of ...
Japan’s Foreign Policy in the Mekong Region
The tenth Japan-Mekong Summit was held on October 9 in Tokyo. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ...
Burmese Migrant Women at Risk in Thailand
Discriminatory practices are holding Burmese migrant women back. “The Burma government doesn’t care that people come to Thailand for work. Sometimes I feel like I want to go home but it’s not any better in Burma. It’s difficult in Thailand, but in Burma there is ...
What’s in the First Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Trilateral Border Exchange?
Later this week, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia will hold the first iteration of a new trilateral border exchange between them in Vietnam. Though the event was just one among many developments within the management of border relations between these countries, its significance nonetheless bears noting ...
Why Cambodia's Poverty Statistics Dispute Matters
How many Cambodians are living in poverty? According to the government’s figures, using income as the only indicator, poverty stands at 13.5 percent, a considerable feat given that it was in the realm of 40 percent only two decades ago. It is also something the ...
Environmental Defenders Under Pressure Across Southeast Asia
A lack of U.S. engagement is contributing to a “declining, dictatorial and more dangerous environment” in Southeast Asia, where the abuse of fundamental rights is increasing alongside the killing of land activists, Human Rights Watch says. Keep reading ...
Mekong Military Ties in Focus with Border Exchange
Last week, the countries of the Mekong subregion kicked off another iteration of a key friendship border exchange program in Vietnam. Though the event was just one among many developments within the management of border relations between these countries, its significance nonetheless bears noting within ...
Laos' Dam Disaster May Not Be Its Last
The Lao dam disaster in Attapeu province has cast a long, dark shadow of doubt about the safety standards and viability of dozens of other hydropower projects. This entirely preventable man-made catastrophe left 6,000 people homeless from floods and over 1,000 villagers unaccounted for. Keep reading ...
Reckoning With Human Rights Violations in Thailand's Extraterritorial Investments
The intensive growth of Thai investments in ASEAN countries in recent years has demonstrated significant potential opportunities to expand markets and provide access to transboundary supply chains, raw materials, as well as the natural resources of the neighboring countries. []A pattern of links between malpractice of ...
What’s Behind Cambodia’s War on Fake News?
The government’s efforts to regulate fake news have raised concerns amid a wider campaign to suppress dissent as elections approach. Keep reading ...
