News
China imports threaten traditional Vietnam festival masks
Vu Thi Thoan’s family has been making papier mache masks, part of traditional Vietnamese celebrations for the mid-autumn festival, for over four decades. But cheap Chinese toys are threatening her business. The mid-autumn festival, which falls on 27 September with the full moon, is Vietnam’s equivalent of ...
Lower Mekong nations collaborate on flood response during exercise in Laos
Dealing with and attempting to mitigate disaster scenarios is why experts, both military and civilian, from six nations were in the capital of Laos participating in the 2015 Lower Mekong Initiative Disaster Relief Exercise and Exchange. The LMI DREE is an annual civil-military disaster preparedness and ...
Laos prepares for ASEAN chairmanship in 2016
Laos is ready to play the role of ASEAN chair and host the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits which will be held back-to-back in Vientiane next year. Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alounkeo Kittikhoun and Malaysian ambassador Than Tai Hing co-chaired an Asean Consultative Meeting (ACM) in ...
Huge drug hauls in "Safe Mekong" operations
A number of people were arrested and a large quantity of drugs seized in recent operations under the “Safe Mekong” project implemented by Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China, Office of the Narcotics Suppression Board secretary-general Permpong Chawalit said on 27 September. Keep reading ...
Thailand prioritises border trade
The Thai government is revving up efforts to tackle hurdles to border trade as it aims to achieve 1.5 trillion baht worth of cross-border business this year. Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn, who chaired a panel handling border trade and investment promotion, said the priority is to facilitate ...
Time’s up for MDG targets
As the United Nations meets this week to draw up a new set of sustainable development benchmarks, the era of the body’s landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is coming to a close, with some wondering – in spite of gains – what efficacy such targets ...
Who is the biggest investor into ASEAN?
The competition to invest into ASEAN countries has been heating up of late. As a region which has been growing, ASEAN still has a large pool of relatively cheap labour in the developing countries. ASEAN is also home to some 600 million consumers with a fast growing middle ...
Bordering on mass tourism between Thailand and Laos
In the near future, tourists could find it easier to explore the border towns of Thailand and Laos when checkpoints and transportation links are widened for tourism. Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) is pushing for more tourism co-operation between border towns of the ...
Myanmar fishermen compensated for years of unpaid work on Thai vessels
After a long fight, a handful of Myanmar fishermen yesterday received compensation for their work on fishing trawlers plying remote Indonesian waters. Out of the 105 fishermen repatriated to Myanmar on 6 September, 65 were sent reimbursements on 22 September, according to the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta. “We are ...
Permanant border crossing planned from Phayao to Laos
Ban Huak temporary border checkpoint in Phayao province’s Phu Sang border district will be upgraded to permanent status next year to boost trade and investment with Khop district in Sayaboury province of Laos. Waradisorn Onnut, chief of Phu Sang district, said on 23 September that preparations ...
