Government
New minister of agriculture and forestry appointed
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr Phet Phomphiphak has been appointed Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, replacing Mr Vilayvanh Phomkhe, as approved by the government. A ceremony to hand over the position took place at the ministry on 24 August, attended by Deputy Prime Minister ...
China oil rig to keep drilling in waters disputed with Vietnam
A Chinese oil rig at the center of last year’s standoff between China and Vietnam will continue drilling not far from Vietnam’s coast, China’s maritime safety authorities said on 25 August. The deployment of the $1 billion deepwater rig last year about 120 nautical miles off ...
New strategy for Japan, Mekong cooperation
Japan and four Southeast Asian nations along the Mekong River Basin – Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand – have approved a plan to speed up industrial development in the region. Keep reading ...
Laos 'ghost project' audits point to higher-ups in government, source says
Investigations into a scheme in Laos in which private companies cashed government bonds issued in promise of payment for work they never performed have revealed the involvement of senior government officials who will never be brought to trial, a state auditor says. The auditing of the ...
Ieng Thirith, Khmer Rouge ‘First Lady,’ dies at 83
Ieng Thirith, who was among Pol Pot’s inner circle during the rule of the Khmer Rouge as the regime’s social affairs minister, died on 22 August in Pailin province, where her family remains influential. She was 83. Keep reading ...
Japan charts road to industrialization for Mekong region
Japan and the five Southeast Asian countries bordering the Mekong River adopted a blueprint on 24 August to boost industrialization in the subregion. The blueprint, known as “The Mekong Industrial Development Vision,” got the thumbs-up during a meeting between Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi ...
Vietnam affirms close cooperation in transport with Laos, Cambodia
The transport ministries of Vietnam and Laos have affirmed close cooperation in all aspects of the transport sector at an annual bilateral ministerial meeting in Hanoi on 22 August. They agreed to promote transport infrastructure connectivity between the two countries. On the same day, Vietnam and Cambodia ...
Arakanese ire raised over citizenship verification drive
The Arakan State government’s ongoing citizenship verification process has caused disquiet among local Arakanese, some of whom contend that immigration officials are overly accommodating of unwarranted claims. The citizenship verification process, a largely ill-defined scheme that involves non-nationals providing proof of Burma-born ancestry, has led to ...
Map critics face arrest
Prime Minister Hun Sen has delivered a warning to anyone still thinking about criticising the government’s handling of the ongoing border demarcation with Vietnam: you will be arrested. Addressing a cabinet meeting, Hun Sen said anyone who persisted with claims that authorities were using “fake” maps or ...
Kazakhstan President’s Special Envoy visits Cambodia, Laos
Kazakhstan’s Special Envoy of the President and Deputy Foreign Minister Askar Mussinov visited Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries Cambodia and Laos 12-13 August in the framework of promoting his country’s bid to secure a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security ...