News
Indonesian president vows to fund ‘massive’ maritime infrastructure program
President Joko Widodo vowed on August 16 to develop all of Indonesia’s frontier areas, including the Natuna Islands close to where it is embroiled in a dispute with China, and outlined plans to fund a massive maritime infrastructure program to accelerate growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. “We ...
Bananas on the Lancang: grown in Yunnan, destined for Shanxi
Along the banks of the Lancang in Yunnan, bananas grown from the river’s water are part of a complex network of national trade. Luc Forsyth and Gareth Bright have set out on a journey to follow the Mekong river from sea to source, The Diplomat will ...
New Mekong dams to affect millions in Vietnam
Building more dams along the Mekong River will destroy the livelihoods of millions of people, according to a report commissioned by the Vietnamese government. It also says plans to construct new dams will damage crops with salt water intrusion, particularly in the south where the Mekong ...
Greenpeace defines plan to fund solar energy use
Filipinos can easily gain access to solar energy through financing package which spreads the initial cost over the long-term while generating savings on electricity bills, Greenpeace Philippines said. The group gathered financing companies and solar providers on August 17 to connect consumers to financing options and help ...
Why 'partnerships for sustainable development' counts as an essential sustainable development goal
Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the 17th is the odd one out. As “Partnerships for the Goals”, it is a goal that helps you get to the other 16 goals. For most businesses committed to sustainable development, however, this 17th goal may be the ...
Rice cultivation in Southeast Asia: 5 years of lessons learned by LEGATO
Rice is an important crop and staple food in the Southeast Asian region; however, the growing pressures of our changing world pose difficulties on its production. Five years of irrigated rice cultivation research reached its pinnacle at the Final LEGATO Conference, which took place from 6 ...
Why China’s plan to build a new silk road runs through Singapore
As the son of a man who journeyed from China to Singapore and founded a shipping business a half century ago, Teo Siong Seng sees his life as one immersed in the ancient trading networks of Asia. So the managing director of the Pacific International Lines Group ...
What are Brunei's priorities for ASEAN health?
For the next two years, Brunei will assume the chairmanship within ASEAN for the Senior Officials Meeting on Health Development and the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting. With the official handing over of the chairmanship from Vietnam to Brunei at the 11th Senior Officials Meeting on Health ...
ASEAN still has much to accomplish, FM Retno says at bloc's 49th anniversary
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations still has much to accomplish in the future as the regional bloc celebrated its 49th anniversary on August 15. Speaking during the celebration at the offices of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Retno said she believes ...
The changing face of Japan-ASEAN aid
Japan’s foreign aid toolkit has been expanding since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012, as he seeks to shore up Japan’s influence in South-east Asia in the face of muscle-flexing by China. Japan announced on August 12 that it would give two new large ...
