Government
International relations
South China Sea disputes: Makings of a new Cold War?
Tensions in the South China Sea have somewhat abated but the latent flashpoint remains. In mid-October 2018, a near collision took place between a US and Chinese warship. The US has attacked Beijing’s expansionism. In September 2018, Japan conducted its first-ever submarine drills in the ...
Trade war: Focus turns to Thailand to conclude $7 trln RCEP
Six years in the making, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is slated to transform the region into an Asean-centric, comprehensive free trade area, poised to make a large contribution to Asian and global economic cooperation. The RCEP may well become the second major Asia-led trade ...
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia boost anti-drug cooperation
The 17th trilateral-bilateral ministerial meeting on drug control cooperation between Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia took place in Vientiane on December 6. The event creates a good chance for the three countries to review their past cooperation and learn from the experience in the implementation of the ...
Laos, Cambodia PMs Agree To Continue Joint Patrols in Disputed Area
The governments of Laos and Cambodia have agreed in Vientiane to continue efforts to de-escalate tensions in a disputed border area. The agreement was made during Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Vientiane yesterday at the invitation of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. Keep reading ...
Is Myanmar Ready to Become a Regional Trade and Supply Hub?
apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently pledged to promote more than 150 quality infrastructure projects in five nations in the Mekong River subregion—Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos—under a new blueprint, the Tokyo Strategy 2018 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation, which will be effective from 2019 to ...
Sanya hosts 2018 Sanya Forum of Lancang-Mekong River Tourist Cities Cooperation
Themed “An Open and Innovative Lancang-Mekong River for A Future with Win-Win Cooperation”, the 2018 Sanya Forum of Lancang-Mekong River Tourist Cities Cooperation opened in Sanya, a seaside city in southern China’s island province of Hainan, on November 23. []More than 200 guests including delegations from 18 cities in China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, as ...
Cambodia eases pressure on opposition, media after EU sanctions threat
Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation. Keep reading ...
GMS biodiversity conservation corridors to operate from 2019
The Greater Mekong Subregion biodiversity conservation corridors and project management plans will be put into operation from 2019, said Vice Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Environment Nguyen The Dong. Dong, who is also the director of the project’s management board, said that the ...
China Fuels Vietnam’s Protest Movement – Analysis
The Vietnamese people, wary of Chinese expansionism, expect their leaders to control development, protecting culture and independence. Few people had expected mass demonstrations to erupt throughout Vietnam in 2018, as the one-party state usually snuffs out dissent before many understand the issue or have a chance ...
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 ...
