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ASEAN Foreign Ministers to Hold Meeting to Discuss Myanmar Crisis
Southeast Asian foreign ministers will hold a special meeting on Tuesday on the political crisis in Myanmar, the Indonesian foreign ministry said, as the regional and international community condemned a deadly weekend crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The online meeting was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ...
Ronna Nirmala
Asean nations urged to bolster response to pandemic
Laos has pushed for the relevant bodies in Asean countries to accelerate implementation of the Asean initiative to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and keep the virus in check. Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith delivered the message on Thursday when he headed a Lao ...
Times Reporters
ASEAN’s Migrant Worker Clusters
According to think tank, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, across Southeast Asia, an estimated 10 million migrant workers live and work in major destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Malaysia is home to around two million documented migrant workers, comprising about 15 percent ...
Athira Nortajuddin
Explainer: How hydropower dams can help ASEAN fight climate change
Dams are infrastructures built to control river flow and store large amounts of water in artificial lakes or reservoirs. They are used not only for agricultural water supply and flood control, but also to produce electricity. The water released from dams flows through turbines, whose mechanical ...
Stefano Galelli
Time to turn to nature for climate action
Four consecutive typhoons pummeled the Philippines in just a couple of weeks, leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. The most recent one, with the local name “Ulysses” (international name: Vamco) submerged parts of Luzon, giving residents in the capital a painful reminder of the ...
Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim
Asean in the Mekong Sub-Regional Integration
As we are meeting today, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging in all corners of the globe. The pandemic has triggered a severe global crisis in multiple aspects, ranging from public health to tourism, trade and the disruption of global supply chains. Indeed, we are witnessing ...
Cheunboran Chanborey
Vietnam leads ASEAN through COVID-19
COVID-19 is posing serious challenges to ASEAN in 2020. But Vietnam, as ASEAN chair, is trying to make the best of the situation and demonstrate leadership. As 2020 marks a mid-term review of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Building Blueprints 2015–25, Vietnam chose ‘Cohesive ...
Bich T Tran
Vietnam puts the Mekong's fate on ASEAN's agenda
In a nod to green diplomacy, Vietnam is raising the geopolitical stakes over the Mekong River, Southeast Asia’s largest body of water, which has dropped to record lows due to a severe drought and construction of large dams. Hanoi has signaled its intent to raise the issue this ...
Marwaan MaCan-Markar
Vietnam To Counter China With Asean Backing On Mekong River Region
Vietnam took over the rotational chair of Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in January 2020, so it’ worth noting that Hanoi’s second foremost foreign policy priority after the South China Sea is reportedly the Mekong River region. While the South China Sea, ...
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
ASEAN’s renewable energy challenges
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has set an ambitious target of securing 23 percent of its primary energy from renewable sources by 2025 as energy demand in the region is expected to grow by 50 percent. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency ...