Aid and development
No justice in Rakhine
Abdullah keeps track of each time he has nearly died. When asked to introduce himself, he begins to list each brush with death with the same practised air of one listing the experiences on their resume. A Rohingya refugee living in Cox’s Bazar for the ...
Robin Spiess
Economic growth rebounding but further reform needed: World Bank
The World Bank is optimistic about economic growth in Laos, which is projected to rebound to 6.5 per cent in 2019, rising from 6.3 per cent recorded last year. Despite continued fiscal tightening, the pickup is expected to be driven by robust investment in mega infrastructure ...
Somsack Pongkhao
China and the Mekong states: Divergent responses to Chinese initiatives
In June 2018, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) held its eighth summit in Bangkok. ACMECS countries include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. Initially an initiative of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2003, there were few indications that the Thai government ...
Selina Ho
Silk Road sweeteners: China woos Myanmar's NLD with junkets
The National League for Democracy was forged in an uprising against one-party rule. Its activists spent years in jail under Myanmar’s military junta. But since taking power three years ago, the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has found an unlikely ally ...
Shoon Naing and Simon Lewis
EU stumps up $11mln for Greater Mekong wildlife conservation
The European Union (EU) has teamed up with wildlife and conservation groups in the Greater Mekong region, Malaysia, and China to try and disrupt the flow of illegally trafficked wildlife through the region. The €10 million (about $11.14 million) project which will run through until December ...
Sreypov Men
China’s Push to Control the Mekong River a “Troubling Trend”
The United States has expressed concern over Chinese dam building, dredging and other activities on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, calling them “troubling trends.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with ministers from lower Mekong River countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The foreign ministers of ...
Myanmar, Italy sign MoU to cooperate in water management and mechanized farming
A ceremony to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Myanmar and Italy to cooperate in the water management in the farming sector and development of mechanized farming, was held in Nay Pyi Taw on August 2, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and ...
Is the Indo-Pacific eclipsing Asia-Pacific?
Thailand and the smaller states in its neighbourhood will miss the Asia-Pacific era. It is not as if the Asia-Pacific has gone away or disappeared in any sense. But its role as a cradle of prosperity linking larger and small economies around the Pacific Rim ...
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
EU funds effort to disrupt wildlife supply chain in Greater Mekong region
The EU will provide €10 million ($11.14 million) for a project to strengthen government actions to disrupt wildlife supply chains in the Greater Mekong Region, Malaysia and China. The ‘Partners against Wildlife Crime’ initiative seeks to “disrupt the illicit supply chains of wildlife from source to ...
Nguyen Xuan
China enhances Lancang-Mekong youth exchange, cooperation
The Lancang-Mekong Youth Exchange and Cooperation Center was inaugurated in Shanghai Monday, with eight universities from China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signing a memorandum. The center aims to enhance youth exchanges, cooperation and development among the six countries and will focus on projects of ...
