The Southeast Asian region, like every other part of the globe has had a tempestuous year in 2017 with many hurdles thrown its way. From the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Duterte’s war on drugs, it is undeniable that the region is still finding its footing on rights and democracy.While these issues may or may not see a resolution in 2018, there are other things that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc can look out for.

2017 was a rollercoaster of a year and Southeast Asia was not spared from the ride. To commemorate the year as it draws to a close, The ASEAN Post would like to take readers on a journey to revisit key events and happenings in this region throughout 2017.JANUARYJanuary was not all about Trump's inauguration.

We’re in the final few days of 2017, and what a year it’s been for Southeast Asia.

The South China Sea has been long threatened – geographically and politically. In more recent times, ecologically too.The South China Sea is one of the world’s top five most productive fishing zones, accounting for about 12 percent of global fish catch in 2015 alone.More than half of the fishing vessels in the world operate in these waters, which employs 3.7 million people, and likely many more engaged in illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing.

For the past 20 years, labour migration has been a driving force behind the economic and social development of the Southeast Asian region and its people.

Southeast Asia is no stranger to acts of terrorism – from the 1975 hostage crisis in Kuala Lumpur perpetrated by the Japanese Red Army and, the recent bloody battle which took place in the southern city of Marawi in the Philippines. The latter is most likely the freshest incident in our minds. The siege of Marawi lasted 5 months, left more than 1,000 dead was the region’s first full-blown encounter with the terrors of the Islamic State (IS).

The global economy found its post-crisis footing in 2017, with most major developing economies surprising on the upside.Comparing 2017 predictions made a year ago versus the likely outturn – based on the latest forecasts in Bloomberg’s monthly survey – shows that the pessimists called this one wrong. One of the biggest surprises was the euro area, set for its strongest expansion in a decade.

The 30% Club Malaysia, a movement of Chairs and CEOs who advocate gender parity at all levels of their organisations is intensifying its efforts to help Malaysia achieve 30 percent women representation on public-listed corporate boards by 2020.

As the world continues to be fixated on nuclear tensions in the Korean Peninsula, lesser attention has been devoted to China and their island building activities in the disputed South China Sea area.Beijing claims nearly all of the sea and according to a report by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), has been turning reefs in the Spratly and Paracel chains into islands, installing military facilities and equipment on them.In a feature published last Thursday, AMTI said that Beijing e

Indonesia is set to lose its first and only female constitutional justice, whose term is up next year, potentially dealing a blow to women’s rights in a country where they’re being challenged in the face of growing religious conservatism.Maria Farida Indrati will end her second and final term in about eight months, leaving the nine-member board of justices entirely male on one of the two highest courts in the country – where cases on discrimination, domestic violence, early-age marriage and f