News
Lancang-Mekong Cooperation: Blessing or curse?
The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) marked its third anniversary last week with the announcement that China’s trade with the five Mekong member countries – Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has reached over US$260 billion for the period, highlighting the overarching role China plays in ...
Jason Thomas
Work accelerated to built master plan for Mekong Delta’s sustainable development
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), together with relevant ministries and agencies, is accelerating the building of a master plan for the Mekong Delta’s sustainable development in adaption to climate change to 2030 with a vision to 2050. The master plan will serve as ...
Thailand must take action for cleaner air in Asean
When complaints are made about the haze crisis and air pollution in Southeast Asia, most usually think about fires in Indonesia’s provinces, which have been a recurrent problem for over two decades. However, the situation this year has been different as Thailand has been at the ...
Simon Tay & Liyana Othman
Animated film explains how Myanmar's Telecommunications Law undermines free speech
A short animated film is helping to educate the public about Myanmar’s Telecommunications Law and the ways that it can suppress free speech. Are You Ready is a collaboration between EngageMedia and several digital rights activists in Myanmar. It was first screened in December 2018 in Yangon at the Myanmar Digital Rights Forum. ...
Mong Palatino
The bully playing games with border trade
Restrictions on border trade with China are a big headache for many Myanmar merchants. China officially bans most rice imports from Myanmar, for example, but its border officials often turn a blind eye to the trade. In early February though the Chinese authorities launched a crackdown ...
Sithu Aung Myint
Op-ed: MRC reinforces knowledge hub and water diplomacy role for resilient Mekong futures
While the MRC is well established and recognised as the international treaty-based river basin organization and primary water diplomacy platform in the Mekong River basin, we still have opportunities to improve basin-wide cooperation. My priority is to further equip the MRC Secretariat with the facilitation ...
An Pich Hatda, CEO of the MRC Secretariat
Talks on trade, crime seek to achieve development goals
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged Asean members on Wednesday to maintain a good balance between promoting cross-border trade and suppressing transnational crime, which he said holds the key to meeting the region’s sustainable development goals. He made the remark during a speech at Wednesday’s opening of the ...
Myanmar parliament to pass gambling bill in May: report
Myanmar’s parliament is expected to approve in May a bill that would authorise the setting up of foreigner-only casinos in the country, the Myanmar Times newspaper reported on Sunday. The parliament is expected to sit again later this month after an April holiday break. Keep reading ...
Vietnamese man makes & sells straws out of wild grass found in Mekong delta
In recent times, plastic straws have been shunned due to its impact on marine animals. Now, numerous purportedly more eco-friendly alternatives to plastic straws have sprouted, such as metal straws and rice straws. One rather innovative solution that has surfaced are straws made out of grass. In a ...
Commentary: Myanmar on the cusp of opening up to mediation on Rakhine crisis
Myanmar has recognised ASEAN’s role in assisting with the displaced communities’ humanitarian needs. It has also indicated willingness to address this via the good offices of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management (AHA Centre). To this end, the ASEAN Emergency Response ...
