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Asean Economic Community
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Rohingya in ‘no man’s land’ insist they will stay
ALONG the Bangladesh-Myanmar border—From their home, a tent hastily erected in a grassy field, the young Muslim Rohingya…
Bangladesh gives to Myanmar official the names of refugees for repatriation
DHAKA, Bangladesh—A Bang-ladesh Cabinet minister gave a list of 8,032 Rohingya refugees to his Myanmar counterpart to begin…
South Korea joins US, Thailand in military drill
SATTAHIP, Thailand—Troops from South Korea joined their Thai and US counterparts last Saturday in an amphibious vehicle landing…
Judge halts deportation of Indonesian Christians
HIGHLAND PARK, New Jersey—A federal judge has temporarily halted deportation proceedings against Indonesian Christians who are in the…
Cambodia endorses amendment making insulting the king a crime
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodia’s Cabinet last Friday endorsed an amendment to the criminal code making insulting the king a…
Lion dance in Singapore ahead of Lunar New Year
SINGAPORE—Performers from Southeast Asia took part in an international lion-dance competition in Singapore ahead of the Lunar New…
Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh calls Rohingya plight ‘despicable’
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh—Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh says she’s appalled by the plight of the hundreds of thousands of…
Grim reminders of Vietnam war, 4 decades later
HANOI, Vietnam—It’s been over for 40-plus years, the war that Americans simply call Vietnam but the Vietnamese refer…
Cambodia, India to expand ties in IT, infrastructure
NEW DELHI—The leaders of India and Cambodia last Saturday agreed to work toward a bilateral investment treaty that…
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets China’s Xi as Rohingya censure intensifies
BEIJING—Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, facing growing international criticism over her country’s persecution of Rohingya Muslims,…
Former Asean Sec-Gen Surin dead at age 68
BANGKOK—Former Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has died in Thailand. He was 68. Thailand’s Democrat…
SE Asia’s economic boom reaches Thailand
AN economic boom that’s reverberated across Southeast Asia has finally crossed over to Thailand. The economy, which has…
Cambodia’s top court orders opposition party dissolved
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodia’s Supreme Court ordered the country’s main opposition party to be dissolved last Thursday, dealing one…
US would consider individual sanctions for Myanmar
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that the US is deeply concerned by “credible…
Bangkok firefighters on front line of city’s snake scourge
When the latest distress call came into Phinyo Pukphinyo’s fire station in Bangkok, it was not about a…
Singapore suspends part of rail line after ‘awful day’ of crash
Singapore suspended part of a rail line to conduct checks, after a train collision on Wednesday left more…
Indonesia policy dilemma looms as credit growth lags
Indonesia’s hopes of hitting double-digit credit growth this year have all but faded, presenting a dilemma for policy-makers…
Trudeau urges just solution to Rohingya crisis
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought up his country’s concerns about human rights and extrajudicial killings in the…
Asean syncs connectivity plan with Xi’s Belt and Road
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have agreed to join forces in accelerating the implementation of…
Trump’s handshake challenge: He grimaces, grins, grips
HE grimaced. He grinned. He gripped. President Donald J. Trump is known for his long, at times aggressive,…
More work needed for Asean economic integration as challenges emerge
The emergence of China as a rising superpower and the increasing link between economics and security have undermined…
Trump thanks Duterte for his hospitality, ducks human-rights issue
UNITED States President Donald J. Trump repeatedly thanked President Duterte for hosting world leaders at the annual Association…
Premier Li’s visit buoys up spirit of local businessmen
China Prime Minister Li Keqiang is in the Philippines attending the 31st Asean Summit and East Asian meeting,…
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi now benefits from Southeast Asia’s silence on Rohingya
When Aung San Suu Kyi led the fight for democracy against Myanmar’s despotic military rulers two decades ago,…
Asean got 20% less FDI in 2016–report
Inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) to Association of Southeast Asian Nations dropped by 20 percent in 2016…
International experts: Asean and China discussions not working
International security experts sounded the alarm over what they said was the lackluster future of an all-important code…
Asean, Hong Kong ink free-trade deal
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed a free-trade…
N. Korea, Marawi siege, sea feud top Asean summit worries
Southeast Asia started banding its unwieldy cluster of fledgling democracies, monarchies and authoritarian regimes into an European Union-like…
Asean businessmen to talk infra
World leaders and the industry captains in member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will discuss key…
AFP’s best forces to help secure Asean meetings
The military has sent its specialized land, air and sea forces to support the massive government contingent tasked…
Government agencies mobilized for Asean Summit 2017
A 60,000-strong multiagency forces and resources mobilized last Sunday at the Quirino Grandstand for the 31st Association of…
Thai junta firmly in command after year of mourning for king
BANGKOK—Thailand’s military government has emerged from the year of official mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej with a firm…
Thai king’s 5-day funeral, yearlong mourning ends
BANGKOK—The yearlong mourning period and elaborate five-day funeral rites for Thailand’s king of seven decades officially end last…
Indonesia court upholds seizure of fishing vessel
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indo-nesia says it has won a two-year court battle that confirms the legality of the government’s seizure…
Hyundai to support Asean confab delegates
HYUNDAI Asia Resources Inc. (Hari), the official Philippine distributor of Hyundai vehicles, announced that it will support the…
King’s legacy felt strongly as Thailand bids good-bye
HUAY HOM, Thailand—Half a century has passed and the king is dead, but the villagers of Huay Hom…
Buddhists protest vs Myanmar repatriation of Rohingya Muslims
SITTWE, Myanmar—Hundreds of hard-line Buddhists protested last Sunday to urge Myanmar’s government not to repatriate the nearly 600,000…
Homes just aren’t that affordable, central bank tells Malaysians
Malaysia’s central bank has a response to those saying it needs to do more to spur home loans:…
Asean officials preparing draft documents for Manila meet
Senior Southeast Asian officials are now in the final stretch of preparations for the 31st Asean Summit and…
Thai premier says elections to be held in November 2018
Thailand’s long wait for a return to democracy is set to end after the leader of the country’s…
Indonesia set to test demand for Komodo bonds
If India’s experience of selling local-currency notes in the overseas market is anything to go by, Indonesia’s plan…
Thai premier says elections to be held in November 2018
Thailand’s long wait for a return to democracy is set to end after the leader of the country’s…
Bangladesh PM says government will continue to help Rohingya
DHAKA, Bangladesh—Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said last Saturday that her government would continue to support nearly 1…
Cambodia takes first legal step to dissolve opposition party
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodia’s government last Friday took initial legal steps to dissolve the country’s main opposition party, the…
Kim’s murder trial to resume with lab visit for VX evidence
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The trial of two women accused of killing the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader…
Myanmar refugee exodus tops 0.5 million
TEKNAF, Bangladesh—He trekked to Bangladesh as part of an exodus of a half million people from Myanmar, the…
Bangladesh coastal town a place of Rohingya hope and tragedy
SHAH PORIR DWIP, Bangladesh—From a distance you can see elegantly carved wooden boats bob gently in the waters…
UN exec: Global community must step up Rohingya aid
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh—The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said last Sunday that the exodus of Rohingya Muslims…
Business ties complicate Muslim states’ response to Myanmar’s Rohingya
When Rohingya Muslims fled persecution and slaughter in Myanmar in past decades, tens of thousands found refuge in…
Superbug’s spread to Vietnam threatens malaria control
Vietnam’s main malaria treatment is failing at an alarming rate because of a highly drug-resistant superbug that has…
Singapore cements China ties with Lee’s three-day visit to Chinese capital
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to China this week signals efforts on both sides to bolster…
Bangladesh restricts Rohingya refugees, starts immunization
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh—Bangladeshi authorities last Sunday took steps to restrict the movement of Muslim Rohingya refugees fleeing violence…
Malaysia police arrest 7 boys linked to deadly school fire
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysian police said last Saturday they have arrested seven boys suspected of intentionally starting a fire…
Among Asian currencies, Philippine peso is unloved
Asian emerging-market curren-cies have been having their best year since before the 2013 taper tantrum, bolstered by pace-setting…
Vietnam battles dengue outbreaks with 42% more cases
HANOI, Vietnam—Vietnam has been battling raging dengue-fever outbreaks with more than 10,000 new infections reported over the past…
Indonesia president: Spread wealth, protect diversity
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesia’s president on Wednesday vowed a fairer distribution of the nation’s wealth and a renewed commitment to…
Taming of Asia’s most volatile currencies creates new danger
Policy-makers in Indonesia and Malaysia have been so successful in quashing currency volatility that this is breeding a…
Scientists potentially narrow MH370 search area to 3 spots
CANBERRA, Australia—Scientists have potentially narrowed the search area for the missing Malaysian airliner to three specific locations in…
Thailand activist gets prison for posting BBC story about king
BANGKOK—A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a student activist to 2 1/2 years in prison after he…
Thailand, PHL want no part of Asia dollar-bond boom
OVER in Asia’s booming dollar-bond market, there are two notable absentees: Thailand and the Philippines. The two countries…
Cambodia leader sees border crisis with Lao PDR averted
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who threatened last Friday to use force over a border crisis…
Asean is nobody’s backyard –think tank
AS Asean foreign ministers, as well as foreign ministers from the US, China and other partners of the…
China steals spotlight at Asean as Tillerson keeps low profile
For evidence of China’s burgeoning swagger on the world stage, look no further than Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s…
Thai Beverage to buy KFC restaurants in fast-food push
Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), the spirits giant that makes Chang beer and SangSom rum, is expanding into the fast-food…
Vietnam seeks windfall selling $7-billion brewery in slices
Vietnam’s plan to sell its Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp. stake in tranches may help the government extract the…
North Korea, sea-feud issues, delay Asean communiqué
DISAGREEMENTS over North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile tests and territorial disputes in the South China Sea prevented the…
Asean economies face common challenges
WHILE economies in the Asean remain to be among the most dynamic and resilient in the world, the…
Asean wants talks on sea pact with China soonest
Southeast Asia’s top diplomats will seek talks “as soon as possible” on a proposed non-aggression pact with China…
Defector looks to break Najib’s grip on Borneo and Malaysia
If anyone can break Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stranglehold on Sabah, the Borneo state that holds the key…
Court acquits Thai ex-PMs
Two former Thai prime ministers have been cleared of abusing their power in a case involving the quelling…
Mysterious spending slump spurs flight from Indonesia stocks
As Indonesians keep their wallets in their pockets, foreigners are pulling money from a stock market dominated by…
Amazon reaches for millions in Southeast Asia’s cyber space
SINGAPORE—Amazon is introducing express delivery to Singapore in its first direct effort to tap into surging online shopping…
Nations agree to boost fight against IS in Southeast Asia
MANADO, Indonesia—A six-nation summit cohosted by Indonesia and Australia agreed last Saturday to set up a forum to…
Architect of Indonesia postcrisis economy urges more tax reform
One of the chief architects of Indonesia’s postcrisis economy says local governments must be given more autonomy to…
Thailand’s ex-prime minister vows to fight negligence charge
Yingluck: “I will stay strong and I will continue to prove my innocence to the best of my…
Malaysia Air seeks partners for Hajj-focused service via A380
Malaysia Airlines Bhd. is in talks with potential investors for new charter flights to carry Muslim travelers on the…
North Korea sends envoy ahead of Asean talks in PHL
North Korea has sent a senior diplomat to the Philippines ahead of a high-profile security talks that will…
Indonesia central bank’s decision puzzles analysts
By Karlis Salna and Lilian Karunungan / Bloomberg News Bank Indonesia blamed a swearing-in ceremony at the nation’s financial regulator for the…
Vietnam’s drinkers are giving world’s biggest breweries beer goggles
By Luu Van Dat, John Boudreau, & Mai Ngoc Chau / Bloomberg News Ho Chi Minh called alcohol a poison peddled…
PM Najib ups battle for Malaysian farmer votes with big aid package
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak raised the stakes in his efforts to secure the votes of palm-oil farmers,…
Thailand tourism tack focuses on spending
Thailand is now so popular for holidays that almost 35 million foreign tourists—equivalent to half the country’s population—are expected…
Singapore home sales fall 21% in June as fewer projects launched
Singapore home sales fell 21 percent in June from the previous month, as fewer new projects were launched…
Telegram blocks terror content after Indonesia threatens ban
JAKARTA, Indonesia—The encrypted messaging app Telegram is forming a team of moderators who are familiar with Indonesian culture…
Philippines to host Asean environment ministers meeting
The Philippines will play host to an important meeting of senior environment officials representing the 10-member Association of…
China calls for deeper cooperation with Asean
JAKARTA—China called for deeper cooperation with the Asean, so as to achieve mutual development, as the regional bloc…
Malaysia wields cheap currency to beat peers in export race
When the global trade rebound came this year, Malaysia held one advantage over its peers: the cheapest currency…
As Indonesia cuts forests, fake nature thrives
Indonesia’s capital is lush with fake greenery, even as the country is cutting down its precious tropical forests…
Vietnam’s rate cut may spur growth amid credit worries
Vietnam’s surprise lowering of interest rates for the first time in three years may help to support economic growth,…
Buddhists protest UN human-rights envoy in western Myanmar
Buddhist demonstrators on Wednesday protested the arrival of the United Nations (UN) human-rights envoy to Myanmar for an…
Is Indonesia’s ‘pious democracy’ safe from Islamic extremism?
IN May the governor of Jakarta, Indonesia—a Christian—was convicted for blasphemy against religion and sentenced to two years…
Thai PM postpones US visit indefinitely
MOSCOW—Thailand’s Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha postponed his visit to the US, previously scheduled for July 19, because…
Lee family feud has damaged Singapore’s reputation, PM says
A dispute between the children of late Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew has damaged the country’s reputation and…
PHL wants bold approach in fighting Southeast Asia’s drug menace
The Philippines will push for an “aggressive and bold” approach in addressing drug problems in the region during…
KKR targets Southeast Asia’s family businesses
KKR & Co., fresh off raising a record $9.3-billion fund, is gearing up to invest more in Southeast…
Thailand’s ‘super baht’ may be too strong for its own good
Two decades ago Thailand became ground zero of the Asia financial crisis, when its government scrapped a dollar…
Singapore fund to bare all on GLP sale
The litany of complaints about the biggest Asian buyout deal became so bad that Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund…
Myanmar’s train line: A slow ride through (and around) Yangon
YANGON, Myanmar—To ride Yangon’s charmingly decrepit Circle Line train is to ride through history. Built more than 60…
Thai firms bypass military rule to invest a record-high $13 billion in other countries
Bogged down by policy uncertainty under military rule, companies in Thailand are spreading out. Thai businesses invested a…
Singapore arrests 2 police over plan to join Syria conflict
A Singapore auxiliary police officer, who planned to join the armed conflict against Syria’s government, has been arrested…
Indonesia tackles inflation as subsidies cut
What’s good for Indonesia’s fiscal chiefs is proving a headache for the central bank. President Joko Widodo’s push…