News

More than a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency, the – a region with a combined GDP of US$9.34 trillion and a population of more than 650 million – has not recovered from the global economic tumult ...

The United States and Asean leaders have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to counter the Covid-19 pandemic and recover their economies post-pandemic. Leaders from the 10-nation bloc and the US held a virtual special foreign ministerial meeting on Wednesday, co-chaired by Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs ...

The China Media Group (CMG) and ASEAN media on Wednesday initiated a partnership which has been established to promote mutual communications at the 2021 ASEAN Media Partners Forum. Members agreed to issue a joint statement, which aims at strengthening cooperation between the CMG and ASEAN media ...

Antony Blinken, the United States top diplomat, has expressed “deep concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar, calling on Southeast Asian nations to take action to end violence and restore democracy in the country. Blinken made the appeal during a meeting with foreign ministers of the ...

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has expressed support for a Southeast Asian diplomatic effort to end the political crisis in Myanmar. Speaking during a visit to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Lavrov said the Five Point Consensus agreed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc ...

For Southeast Asian countries, the meaning of regional connectivity and integration goes beyond their vision of development and economic progress. Interconnectedness also applies when discussing disasters and environmental degradation. One example is transboundary haze, the top-of-mind term for the raging forest fires on Sumatra or Kalimantan ...

Scientists and experts in the region under an umbrella, Campaign for Nature, a coalition of more than 100 conservation organizations around the world including the Wyss Campaign for Nature and National Geographic Society, have called for Asean leaders to publicly throw their support to save ...

ASEAN, as a regional bloc, needs to take full ownership of the issues surrounding the Mekong River’s environmental crisis instead of relegating it to be of sub-regional importance for fear of displeasing Beijing, said researchers at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. “The Mekong River ecosystem is on ...

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released their annual ranking of the global state of press freedom earlier this month and Countries in Southeast Asia did poorly—none of the 11 countries in the ASEAN bloc scored above RSF’s “difficult situation” designation. RSF ranks countries based on a questionnaire given to ...

The European Union has imposed sanctions on 10 of Myanmar’s military leaders, as well as two giant military conglomerates, in its toughest measures yet against the February 1 coup and the bloody crackdown on protesters demanding the return of the elected government. Announcing the sanctions on ...