Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha confirmed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday that he would not attend the special ASEAN summit in Jakarta this Saturday to address the ongoing crisis in Myanmar due to a new surge of Covid-19 pandemic at home. This is a lost opportunity for Thailand, which is seen as a key
53 crew on the Indonesian missing submarine, the KRI Nanggala 402, could have enough oxygen until early Saturday, but time was quickly running out as rescuers scoured the coast off holiday island Bali where it disappeared. An oil spill where the submarine was thought to have submerged early Wednesday pointed to possible damage to its
The Indonesian Navy said its submarine KRI Nanggala-402 was missing with 53 people on board after contact was lost with the vessel during a weapons shooting exercise 96 km off the coast of Bali on Wednesday. The German-made submarine disappeared around 4.30 am local time on Wednesday morning in the Bali Strait, a waterway connecting
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the leaders of ASEAN will be holding a special leaders’ meeting on April 24, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to discuss how to deal with the deteriorating situation in Myanmar and its repercussions on the region and beyond. long with the other leaders, General Min Aung Hlaing, Chairman of the
Myanmar’s neighbours have to negotiate with a newly formed government of national unity if they want to help resolve the turmoil triggered a by a Feb. 1 military coup and they should not recognise the junta, a unity government official said. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to find a
Myanmar military junta leader Gen Min Aung Hlaing will attend the ASEAN summit scheduled to be held in Jakarta on April 24, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanee Sangrat has confirmed. Tanee said several of the ASEAN leaders have also confirmed their participation at the summit. The spokesman provided no other details of the meeting which will
Over 23,000 prisoners across Myanmar were granted amnesty and released on April 17th, the first day of the traditional New Year, including former student political activists. The state-owned MRTV reported that 23,407 prisoners were released, under the provisions of Section 401-§1 of the penal code. In Yangon region alone over 800 prisoners were released, while
ASEAN leaders have agreed to meet and discuss the situation in Myanmar on April 24 at the grouping’s secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, according to a high-level source. Myanmar military junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is expected to attend the meeting which many see as a test of ASEAN unity in dealing with the
Myanmar’s military opened fire on protesting healthcare workers Thursday, killing at least one bystander as the demonstrators fled for safety to a nearby mosque. The country has been in turmoil since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering a massive uprising that the junta has sought to
Thousands of glass and plastic bottles lie across the floor of Tran Ngoc Thang’s farm in Hanoi, each one home to an aggressive, brightly coloured fish that must be raised alone. Thang has been breeding Siamese fighting fish, also known as betta fish, for more than 20 years in Vietnam — and his business is going swimmingly. They
It is now over 2 months since Myanmar’s military coup on February 1st, ousting the elected civilian government, led by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Over 700 people have been killed, over 300,000 arrested and over 60 have been sentenced, with some facing the death penalty, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
The Philippine foreign ministry said Tuesday it had confronted Beijing’s envoy over the “illegal lingering” of Chinese boats at a contested reef in the South China Sea, stepping up the diplomatic row. Tensions over the resource-rich sea have spiked after hundreds of Chinese boats were spotted last month at the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, where Beijing and
