Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Thailand will join 57 other countries from the Indo-Pacific region to discuss a range of issues related to defence and security, digital connectivity and transnational issues, such as climate change and health security, according to Tanee Sangrat, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The spokesperson said that Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will
Cambodia said on Tuesday that Myanmar had confirmed its absence from this week’s meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a day after its ruling military criticised neighbours for insisting its generals are not invited. “No representative from Myanmar, already confirmed,” Chum Sounry, foreign ministry spokesman of ASEAN chair Cambodia, said in a
Like many of her male counterparts who regularly endure long and exhausting ocean research expeditions, the braving of challenging environs makes for a typical workday for Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, director of the Centre for Marine & Coastal Studies at the Universiti Sains Malaysia. Readily found in the classroom when she is not charting regional
The race to lead the Philippines kicked off Tuesday, with the son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos the favourite to succeed authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte and return his clan to the presidential palace they once fled. Candidates hit the hustings for the three-month campaign season in a chaotic and colourful charm offensive aimed at wooing
It must be the first time that the leaders of Russia and China have met exclusively and mentioned ASEAN during their discussion. Annually, each of them held bilateral meetings with the grouping and attended other ASEAN-led summits. This time around, however, when Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 4th,
Myanmar will send U Chan Aye, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to attend the upcoming ASEAN ministerial retreat in Phnom Penh, according to an informed source in Phnom Penh. The source said that the State Administrative Council has informed the ASEAN chair, Cambodia, that U Chan Aye, a non-political senior official, will attend the retreat
On this day (February 1st) twelve months ago, Myanmar’s promising future, coming out of a COVID-19 lockdown, was squashed by a military coup. The following months were tumultuous, rife with ruthless efforts by the military regime to silence the voices of dissent in all forms, from internet bans and outages to lethal crackdowns and interrogations.
ASEAN foreign ministers will hold their first informal meeting under the new chair on February 16th and 17th in Phnom Penh in a hybrid format, allowing virtual participation, according to an informed diplomatic source. The source said that Cambodia expects all ASEAN foreign ministers to attend the retreat, to set out the ASEAN agenda for
The pandemic, followed by a coup. Myanmar couldn’t have it any harder. Amidst the chaos and woes, one of the rays of hope was what could be described as “Burmese altruism”. It features business owners opening up extremely affordable food centers in Yangon, entrepreneurs coming up with business models to help sustain the charity efforts,
JAKARTA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Indonesia opened up two islands close to Singapore to visitors from the city-state on Monday, officials said, as part of calibrated moves to reboot its tourism sector while controlling the spread of COVID-19. Singaporeans can visit Batam and Bintan islands approximately 15 km (9.32 miles) and 30 km away respectively
Last week, US President Joe Biden sent a letter to ASEAN leaders assuring them that the proposed special US-ASEAN summit is still on the agenda, according to a highly placed source. His signed one-page letter made it clear that, despite the summit’s postponement, the US is still committed to further strengthening its relationship and cooperation
Twitter has suspended hundreds of accounts reportedly linked to supporters of Philippine presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr, which the social media giant said had violated its rules on manipulation and spam. The son and namesake of the country’s former dictator is drawing support from a massive social media campaign seeking to get him elected in
