News
China denies political conditions on aid to Cambodia
China said on 22 July its financial assistance to Cambodia is in no way dependent on that country’s support on diplomatic and political issues, such as Beijing’s dispute with other Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea. A Foreign Ministry statement faxed to The Associated Press ...
Bangkok admits inability to regulate new Lao dam
The Water Resources Department has admitted it is beyond the Thai government’s power to challenge the Pak Beng Dam project in Laos and the only way to review the project is through the Mekong River Commission. The National Human Rights Commission’s subcommittee on communal rights ...
ASEAN deadlocked on South China Sea after Cambodia blocks statement
Southeast Asian nations failed to find common ground on maritime disputes in the South China Sea on July 24 after Cambodia stuck to its demand the group make no reference to an international court ruling against Beijing in a statement, diplomats said. ASEAN is now facing ...
One man’s fight to save the lake
In a bamboo stilt house surrounded by kayaks, bicycles and other trappings of nature tourism, Zwe Zaw Zaw Hein is teaching village children about the value of their local environment. The 22-year-old is one of around 30 young people involved in an eco-tourism initiative called Inn ...
Government, plantation managers trade blame
The managers of some of Cambodia’s most controversial agribusiness plantations on 21 July blamed their many land disputes on the government, accusing officials of failing to educate communities about the benefits of their giant farms. Rights groups blame economic land concessions for some of Cambodia’s worst problems, ...
Meeting strengthens Asean regulations on clean agriculture
ASEAN agriculture officials spent two days from July 21-22 at the 23rd meeting of the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Crops in Vientiane to discuss agricultural regulation improvements and will focus on the supply of high-quality and safe food which meets international standards. “The Agriculture Department of the ...
Vietnam expected to export dairy products to China
Chinese agencies have said they are considering opening the market to Vietnam dairy exports through official channels. Domestic sources reported that in the talks with the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh requested ...
It’s time for development banks to start listening
The aid community often ignores the wishes of the very people it’s supposed to be helping. The world needs a more bottom-up approach to development. Almost a year ago, the United Nations set the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious blueprint for governments and financiers to ...
Myitsone and the failure of China’s ‘anti-ethno-politics’ approach
Northern Myanmar’s Myitsone mega-project failed because its Chinese proponents systematically dismissed Kachin and Burmese nationalism. The Chinese hydropower developers’ strategy was what I call “anti-ethno-politics”: when the state, NGOs, businesses, or other actors try to depoliticise sensitive questions about how their own activities clash with ...
SBV urges banks to support Mekong
Banks and credit institutions need to support the socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta provinces, State Bank of Việt Nam Deputy Governor Đào Minh Tú has said. Speaking at a conference in Hậu Giang Province on 19 July to discuss developmental credit activities in the region, ...
