News
Myanmar-China illegal timber trade still thriving: report
Timber extracted from Myanmar’s frontier forests is flowing into China in illegal transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to a report published on 17 September. The research, by the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and partly financed by the UK, the European ...
South East Asia emergency response team takes on region's deluge of disasters
After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, international aid poured into Southeast Asia, but in both disasters the 10-nation regional body ASEAN was conspicuously absent, says disaster expert Arnel Capili. “Those were very big events that really affected the ...
Thailand asked to probe fatal shooting on Vietnamese fishing boats
Vietnam on 17 September demanded Thailand to promptly investigate and handle Thai individuals involving in the fatal shooting of a Vietnamese fisherman at sea last week. Foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the ministry has sent a diplomatic note to the Thai embassy in Hanoi to ...
China, Vietnam vow to promote economic ties
Visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on 17 September that Vietnam will strive to develop balanced and sustainable trade with China. Chinese enterprises are encouraged to increase investment in infrastructure and interconnectivity projects in Vietnam, said Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the China-Vietnam Economic and ...
Thai marine police claim 'self defence' in firing on Vietnamese fishermen
Thai maritime police said they opened fire on a Vietnamese fishing boat while trying to intercept another vessel in waters near Malaysia last week, a clash Vietnamese state media said killed a fisherman and wounded two others. Officials from the two countries were quoted on 16 ...
Myanmar keeps ‘cordial’ relations with North Korea
A foreign ministry delegation is visiting North Korea this week to further diplomatic relations, although a senior official noted that arms deals were excluded under UN sanctions. U Kyaw Zeya, deputy director general of the foreign ministry, told The Myanmar Times that a delegation led by ...
Ohanaeze Mekong Thailand moves to unite Ndigbo in Asia
Ohanaeze Ndigbo (one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria) living in the Mekong River area of South East Asia, comprising Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China recently converged on Bangkok, Thailand where they deliberated on issues of common interest and how they would ...
Lao, Thai to improve border anti-drug efforts
Officials from Laos and Thailand have agreed to step up cooperative efforts investigating and controlling drugs along their shared border. The officials met on 16 September in Vientiane to also discuss their previous joint work on the anti-drug problems of both nations. Chairman of the Lao National Commission ...
Chinese vice premier meets ASEAN leaders
Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on 17 September met with leaders from Thailand, Myanmar and Laos ahead of an annual expo and business summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in southwest China. They will attend the 12th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment ...
Mekong river ecosystem at risk over dam construction in Laos
The construction of a dam in Laos is endangering the ecosystem of the Mekong river, one of the world’s largest rivers running a length of 5,000 km (3,107 miles) and a source of life and livelihood for millions living along its banks. The dam threatens the ...
