Regional news from Southeast Asia in English — ASEAN politics, economy and diplomacy, covered by Thai PBS World.
Energy giants TotalEnergies and Chevron said Friday they would leave Myanmar following pressure from human rights groups to cut financial ties with the military junta since last year’s military coup. Total cited in a statement the “worsening” human rights situation in the country in its decision to pull out of Myanmar, a move that deprives
A week following the February 1st, 2021 coup in Myanmar, the whole nation erupted with protests in many forms, involving people from many walks of life, including, but not limited to, Generation Z youth, students, doctors, teachers, engineers and even laborers. While the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) did not come into effect immediately, the leadership
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia resumed on Wednesday the treason trial of banned opposition party leader Kem Sokha after a two-year delay due to the pandemic, in a case condemned by the United States as politically motivated. Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 and his opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was banned ahead of a 2018 election that was
Jakarta (AFP) – Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away on jungle-clad Borneo island that will be named “Nusantara”. The House of Representatives vote provides the legal framework for the move, which was first tipped by President Joko
JAKARTA, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 1,054 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase in three months, as the government braces for a new wave of coronavirus infections driven by the spread of the Omicron variant. The world’s fourth most populous country grappled with a devastating second wave of infections in July,
Yangon (AFP) – A Myanmar junta court has hit ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with five new corruption charges related to the alleged hiring and purchase of a helicopter, sources close to the case told AFP. The Nobel laureate, 76, has been detained since the February 1 coup last year which triggered mass
SINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Singapore’s leader said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should continue excluding Myanmar’s junta from its meeting until it cooperates on an agreed peace plans. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a video call on Friday urged the regional group’s new chair, Cambodia, to engage all sides in Myanmar’s
Cambodia said on Wednesday it had postponed a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) scheduled for next week, because some ministers had expressed “difficulties” in attending. The meeting was the first under Cambodia’s chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, which comes amid divisions on how to deal with the military
Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin will attend the ASEAN ministerial retreat in Siem Reap on January 18-19 in person, according to a highly placed source. The source said that Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn wrote a letter of invitation last week to Maung Lwin. Since October last year, Maung Lwin
On January 7th, 2022, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen became the first national leader to visit Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Before Hun Sen even set foot in the beleaguered country, his administration’s announcement of the trip to Myanmar, as the current chairman of the ASEAN, drew waves of criticisms. Apart from
Japan has launched multi-pronged initiatives aimed at promoting ASEAN-Japan relations, taking it from a development to a co-creation partner, according to Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Koichi Hagiuda. He outlined Japan’s new vision of Asia in the post-pandemic world, with ASEAN as its core, in a webinar on January 10th, organised jointly by
Yangon (AFP) – A Myanmar junta court on Monday convicted Aung San Suu Kyi of three criminal charges, sentencing her to four years in prison in the latest in a slew of cases against the ousted civilian leader. The Nobel laureate has been detained since February 1 when her government was forced out in an early morning
