News
China signs rice, rubber deals with Thailand
China has signed rice and rubber purchase deals with Thailand as part of the Thai-Sino railway development agreement. Negotiations over the railway are continuing. The deals were signed at the ninth meeting of the Joint Committee on Railway Cooperation in Bangkok on 3 December. Keep reading ...
China starts work on Laos railway, eyeing farther horizons
The first Southeast Asian rail project to grow out of China’s transcontinental vision for new economic links got underway on 2 December. The president of Laos, Choummaly Sayasone, dug into a tidy pyramid of white sand at the groundbreaking ceremony in Vientiane for a roughly $6 ...
Number of AIDS deaths among young Asians doubles over past decade: U.N.
The estimated number of adolescents dying of AIDS in the Asia Pacific region has more than doubled since 2005, experts said on 30 November, warning of a “hidden epidemic”. UNICEF urged Asian countries to improve teenagers’ access to testing, saying many young people do not know ...
Workers in Thailand get temporary labour permits
Vietnamese migrant workers in Thailand are allowed to register for temporary work permits at the country’s provincial labour departments from 1-30 December, according to the Thai Ministry of Labour. The ministry said on 30 November that the 30-day expansion for Vietnamese guest workers (excluding their companies) aims ...
Cambodian MPs revisit Vietnam border pond issue
Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers Mao Monivann and Son Chhay visited a disputed area on the border between Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district and Vietnam on 30 November and urged the government to take action over several ponds allegedly dug by the Vietnamese in Cambodian territory. Keep reading ...
Vietnam gives Cambodia encryption lessons
The Vietnamese military has begun training Cambodia police in cryptography and encryption techniques as part of a national plan to protect “state secrets”. Em Sam An, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, signed a new agreement between the ministry’s cryptography department and the ...
Unlocking potentials of Laos through China-Laos friendship railway
The long-awaited railway that would connect the landlocked Laos with China would soon become a reality as an agreement was signed between authorities from the two countries for the construction, which is scheduled to start this month. The China-Laos railway will speed up not just the ...
Thai-Chinese railway project on schedule
The 873-km Thai-Chinese railway project for the country’s northeastern line got underway on 30 November as scheduled, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said. “The project was not delayed,” he said, adding that even though more details would be added to the system design criteria work, everything was expected ...
Myanmar navy seizes close to 50 unlicensed trawlers
The Myanmar navy has seized 49 trawlers caught illegally fishing in Myanmar waters since 2013, parliament heard on 30 November. Deputy Minister for Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development U Khin Maung Aye told MPs eight of the boats were from Thailand and the rest were local. ...
Judge knocks back villagers on Laos dam
A Central Administrative Court judge has given a preliminary opinion dismissing villagers’ demands to have a say in the Xayaburi hydropower dam project, on the grounds that it is not a state-owned project. The judge, whose name court officials declined to reveal, also said that a process ...
