To date, ASEAN has over 200,000 coronavirus infections across all 10 member states, with more than 6,000 fatalities as a result of the deadly disease.

Water levels in Southeast Asia’s largest river may be at its lowest in a century.Low rainfall, high temperatures and poor dam regulations are contributing to a historic low at the Mekong, affecting lives, the region’s agriculture and fishing industries and leading to rapidly drying taps.Chinese dams control the flow of the 4,350-kilometre (km) river which originates in the Tibetan highlands before travelling across Myanmar, Lao, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Relations between the EU and some ASEAN member states have been tense in recent years because of the seafood trade, stemming from the European Commission’s (EC) sanctions related to the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Blessed with six million square kilometres of ocean territory, Indonesia’s fisheries industry could make a larger contribution to its economy if better managed.Southeast Asia’s largest economy is the world’s second largest fish producer after China.

Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It is estimated that 25 percent of the global freshwater catch is harvested from this river.Damming of the Mekong started in China in the early 1990s.