News
The Precarious State of the Mekong
The author Tucker Elliot wrote in “The Rainy Season” about the volatile nature of the Mekong: “No matter the border, the Mekong has been an indiscriminate giver and taker of life in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. It’s a paradox like civilization’s other great rivers – ...
Nicholas Muller
Talk but no action? Cambodian workers in Thailand see a lot of room for improvement
Thai-Cambodian discussions at the recent ASEAN summit put labour issues on the table. Despite the pleasant chat, migrant workers in Thailand have yet to see what, if any, measures the authorities will adopt to help address their problems. In a bilateral meeting on the sideline of ...
Seoung Nimol
ASEAN Foreign Ministers Urge More Progress in Myanmar Crisis
Southeast Asian foreign ministers acknowledged Thursday that their efforts to bring peace to Myanmar haven’t succeeded and agreed to increase their determination to end violence in the country, where a military takeover last year set off a crisis that threatens to destabilize the region. Recent events ...
Niniek Karmini and Grant Peck
Mekong nations look for bridge over ‘ASEAN development gap’
Giving equal momentum to development remains the major topic that the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) nations – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) – will discuss at the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting, slated to kick off on September 14 in Siem Reap town. Pen ...
Eng Reachny
7th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Meeting to begin in Bagan
The 7th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting begins today in Bagan, Myanmar. Including China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, LMC is a multilateral cooperation group that oversees transboundary water management in the Mekong. During the meeting, the foreign ministers will evaluate the progress of the Five-Year ...
Htet Thadar
Harnessing the ASEAN youth’s powers for the environment
In the multiverse theory, there exist alternate realities where we have Earths that are untouched, lush, and teeming with biodiversity. But our reality is we only have one Earth, and on this World Environment Day, we once again contemplate its health and existence to ensure that ...
Cambodia hosts meeting on humanitarian assistance to Myanmar
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened a meeting Friday in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, in a fresh effort to organize humanitarian assistance for strife-torn Myanmar. The hybrid meeting, which some participants joined by video, is being attended by high-level representatives from Myanmar and the ...
SOPHENG CHEANG/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Room for ASEAN rice exports to grow: MoIT
ASEAN’s 700-million market has a lot in common with Việt Nam in terms of culture, habits and preferences, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), and there is still room to grow for Vietnamese exports in ASEAN markets, including Vietnamese rice, a major ...
Vietnam Economy News
Mechanical eyes are ready to watch Southeast Asia’s weather systems
A fleet of unmanned surface vessels numbering in the hundreds could be a key tool in helping Southeast Asia countries adapt and prepare for an increase in the frequency of severe weather. Oceanographer Ruth Patterson of Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia, believes unmanned surface vessels ...
TROY KIPPEN
Asean needs a Middle Path
Despite the economic downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic, China-sponsored infrastructure, trade and cooperation initiatives with Southeast Asian nations have been moving forward consistently — amplifying the presence of Beijing in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. One recent landmark event was the inauguration of the ...
PARITTA WANGKIAT