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Yunnan: China's bridge to South and Southeast Asia
China is revisiting its periphery with a new, localized approach to regional multilateralism. China is revisiting the importance of its peripheries for engaging with its neighbors according to its ambitious economic plans. Beijing’s new approach is a top-down regulatory regionalism in exploring economic engagement with the neighborhood, particularly Southeast ...
Japan readies 100bn yen in lending for Myanmar
Japan plans to extend about $994 million in low-interest lending to Myanmar for such projects as railways and water treatment plants, the latest step in Tokyo’s push to bolster ties with the Southeast Asian country. This would mark Japan’s first development financing initiative for Myanmar since ...
Taiwan to boost scholarship opportunities for SE Asian students
Taiwan will significantly increase scholarship opportunities to attract students from Southeast Asia and India as part of the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” the Ministry of Education announced on August 25. Starting in 2017, the Taiwan Scholarship program will offer 182 openings for students from Southeast Asia ...
China should provide disaster relief in ASEAN region to ensure sustainability of economic ties
After a powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar on August 24, China and its neighbors should expedite cooperation over disaster relief, despite the fact that the road for promoting political and social links in East Asia and Southeast Asia is always bumpy due to the complexity of ...
ASEAN trade beckons strict food safety measures
Rising income levels combined with an increase in cross-border trade in Southeast Asia has meant many countries in the region have had to begin strengthening food safety measures in order to meet growing consumer awareness. Under new food safety laws revised in July, the maximum punishment for food poisoning and ...
ASEAN to focus on jobs for addicts
ASEAN will deal with the narcotics problem by focusing more on healthcare and jobs for drug addicts as part of the bloc’s 10-year anti-drug action plan, says Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya. He was speaking on August 24 as he chaired the 37th meeting of ASEAN senior ...
Vietnam seeks deepened ties with Brunei, Singapore
The upcoming State visits to Brunei and Singapore by President Tran Dai Quang aim to realise the foreign policy set forth by the 12th Party Congress and deepen relations with the two ASEAN member countries. Vietnam and Brunei established diplomatic ties on February 29, 1992. Since ...
China, ASEAN ‘need fast RCEP deal’
ASEAN’s trade relationship with China has reached a crucial turning point with the latest 2015 figures showing a 3-per-cent contraction, making it necessary to quickly conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, according to a top Chinese think-tank. Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World ...
Non-ASEAN investors now qualify for local privileges
Non-ASEAN-based investors who have already invested in ASEAN will now be eligible for privileges enjoyed by their ASEAN counterparts in five sectors: agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining and industrial. The International Economic Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on August 22 approved a proposal by ...
Over 300 business people, academia to attend ABIS 2016
More than 300 business people, academia, and speakers from institutes in and out of ASEAN are expected to attend the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2016 next month. The number was reported by the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry on August 23. According to LNCCI, ...
