The ASEAN Secretariat held its 3rd ASEAN Media Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, and brought together about 30 media leaders and prominent bloggers from the 10 ASEAN member countries to dialogue with the region’s thought leaders on vital economic issues affecting the Association.
China urged non-Asian nations to avoid sowing "distrust" and division over contested seas Wednesday in a swipe at the United States (US) shortly before its top diplomat was due to arrive at a Bangkok summit bearing a message of reinvigorated American trade and security engagement in the region. The big power rivalry, framed by a trade war that has withered global growth, has dominated the summit of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, which opened Wednesday.Beijing's mil
The US-China rivalry is set to be sharpened at a Bangkok summit starting Wednesday, where Washington's top diplomat will insist his nation remains a key Asia-Pacific power in the face of Beijing's military machinations in contested seas and airspace.Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian countries are meeting in the Thai capital this week.They will be joined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Chinese and Russian counterparts, with old flashpoints in the disputed South C
Recently, Thai authorities confirmed that four more people were killed in a late-night attack by Muslim insurgents on a military outpost in the south.
Talks between Myanmar and Rohingya leaders will be extended after "positive" discussions about the refugees' return to their homeland, Bangladesh officials said. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military and joined another 200,000 already living in squalid conditions in nearly three dozen camps in Bangladesh's coastal Cox's Bazar district.The two nations signed a repatriation deal two years ago but so far virtually no Rohingya hav
Cambodia has purchased "tens of thousands" of weapons from China, premier Hun Sen said Monday, providing rare details of arms deals with Beijing just days after denying a secret agreement to allow Chinese warships to use a local naval base.The Wall Street Journal last week reported on a draft deal letting China access Ream base near Sihanoukville to dock warships and store weapons, apparently confirming months of rumours.Cambodia tried to knock down the report on Friday by taking do
When the 34th ASEAN Summit concluded last month in Bangkok, Thailand, it came as no surprise that the bloc was met with heavy criticism for suggesting Rohingya refugees will repatriate back to Myanmar within two years. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations (UN) has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”.
Cambodia gave an unprecedented media tour of a strategically crucial naval base on Friday as authorities try to knock down a report of a secret deal allowing Chinese warships to dock at the facility.The Ream naval base, near Sihanoukville, is on the Gulf of Thailand with easy access to the fiercely contested South China Sea.The Wall Street Journal this week reported a deal had been struck allowing China to dock its warships and store weapons at the base, apparently confirming months of rumour
Taking turns to keep watch at their hideout in Lao, the four members of the self-exiled Thai activist folk band "Faiyen" believe they are on a hit-list like eight fellow dissidents who have already disappeared.Lao, which neighbours Thailand, became a haven for some of the most outspoken Thai anti-junta activists after a 2014 coup.All were vituperative in their condemnation of the Thai junta which last month cemented its long hold on power as its chief was elected prime minister by a
The trial of two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists in Cambodia on charges of espionage tomorrow promises to be a closely-watched affair.RFA’s former Phnom Penh bureau office manager Yeang Sothearin and former videographer Uon Chhin were arrested in November 2017 after Cambodian police found recording and broadcasting equipment in a hotel room they raided, this coming two months after the United States (US)-based RFA shut down its Phnom Penh office citing government pressure on independ
Four people were killed in a late-night attack by Muslim insurgents on a military outpost in Thailand's violence-wracked south, authorities said Wednesday, as dramatic footage emerged showing security forces diving for cover from a hail of gunfire and a grenade blast.The attack comes as anger snowballs over the case of a Muslim rebel suspect who was left in a critical condition after spending several hours in a notorious army interrogation unit. The 15-year conflict in the Malay
The Philippines is aiming to strengthen its claims in the South China Sea by potentially building hotels for tourists on its biggest island in the disputed waterway, officials said Tuesday.Manila has administrative control over Thitu – the second-largest naturally occurring landmass in the Spratly archipelago – and wants to bolster its sovereignty by adding new infrastructure.In doing so it will be following in the footsteps of China, which also stakes ownership claims to the Spratlys – along
