News

Chinese tourists account for more visitors to Thailand — and much of Southeast Asia — than from any other country. []What’s more, China is building a series of hydropower dams on the Mekong, which analysts say will produce needed electricity while posing major threats to the ...

Just last year in 2017 a group of local Indonesian and international scientists introduced the newest great ape to the world, the Tapanuli orangutan, or Pongo tapanuliensis. This sub-species of the Sumatran orangutan is found only in two forest blocks southwest of Lake Toba on ...

As China’s ambitious Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and Maritime Silk Road (MSR) — popularly known as the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI — continues to make ripples and waves in international affairs, its likely impact on mainland Southeast Asia warrants attention. Unlike many ...

When the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, visited Beijing in October 2016, shook hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and announced the “separation” of his country from the United States, it felt like a pivotal moment.  []The Philippines, like other states such as Cambodia ...

Two decades ago, this sleepy city on the Mekong River was just starting to pave its streets. [] In recent years, Chinese investment in resource-rich Laos has strengthened the country’s economy, which is projected to grow by 7 percent this year.  Keep reading ...

Great power competition in Asia is not only about control of critical waterways in the South China Sea, but also about who controls Asia’s fresh water. The future of Asia’s water—upon which about four billion people depend—lies in China’s hands. Through its presence in Tibet, ...

Xi calls it the “project of the century,” a decades-long drive to grease the wheels of trade with massive infrastructure spending; Morgan Stanley estimates it will total $1.3 trillion by 2027. The Belt and Road is at the core of China’s foreign policy strategy and ...

Over the past year, Chinese officials reportedly have been surprised by how quickly the Trump administration has undermined U.S. influence in East Asia, creating a leadership void that could potentially be filled—by China. But even before Trump alienated many Asian partners with a mix of ...

Chinese cyber espionage linked to the Belt and Road Initiative is increasing, with experts warning that Beijing is using the huge infrastructure project to spy on companies and countries as well as to damp down dissent. The country is alleged to have targeted Belarus, the ...

Beijing dismissed criticism from the United States after a U.S. official claimed that China’s construction of dams on the upper Lancang (Mekong) River had a detrimental effect on lower Mekong countries. “Related comments by a U.S. official are groundless and they have ulterior motives,” Foreign ...