Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Myanmar's military has sharply escalated attacks on civilians since a new administration took office in the war-torn country, a conflict monitor said on Monday, even as regional governments ramp up diplomatic engagement.
ASEAN foreign ministers formally agreed to grant Türkiye dialogue partner status, making it the bloc's first dialogue partner from the Middle East, according to the ASEAN joint communiqué issued after their annual meeting in Manila.
ASEAN foreign ministers expressed serious concern Tuesday over the US-Iran conflict, warning that it threatens global energy markets and undermines peace efforts.
The Thai prime minister said today that he will raise the ongoing toxic contamination in a river in northern Thailand with the Myanmar president during his official visit early next month.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent with repercussions beyond the Middle East.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow is attending the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila under a cloud of renewed fighting in the Middle East and a deep divide over Myanmar's return to the diplomatic fold.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has declared that Thailand is a premier location for industrial manufacturing, promising Chinese investors that the government will maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against bribery and corruption, colloquially known as ‘tea money’, especially when demanded by officials.
Thailand has managed to convince four of China’s leading companies to expand their production bases in Thailand during talks between a Thai delegation, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and their representatives in Chengdu on Saturday, according to Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas today.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul that China is ready to facilitate talks between Thailand and Cambodia to resolve their border conflict.
Thailand is urging Myanmar’s military leadership to grant the ASEAN special envoy access to detained former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during an upcoming humanitarian mission, as part of a renewed diplomatic push to resolve the country's prolonged crisis.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has warned that ASEAN’s shift toward “calibrated re-engagement” with Myanmar’s military-appointed government risks normalizing a dictatorship without securing any tangible results for the Myanmar people.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe told his ASEAN counterparts at a meeting in Bangkok on Sunday that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and will be well looked after.
