In recent years, we have seen the renewal of a phenomenon that seemed to have passed into history with the end of the Cold War: fierce and potentially violent competition between the most powerful countries on the globe.
Cambodia will not allow foreign military bases on its soil, strongman premier Hun Sen said Monday, swatting away United States (US) concerns about a possible Chinese naval site near hotly contested seas.China has lavished billions of dollars in soft loans, infrastructure and investment on the poor Southeast Asian kingdom, providing Prime Minister Hun Sen with a fast-growing economy that he wields as justification for his 33-year authoritarian rule.In exchange Cambodia has been a staunch China
An Asia-Pacific summit ended in tumult after the United States (US) and China failed to agree on language in a final statement, the latest sign that a trade war between the world’s biggest economies won’t end anytime soon.For the first time since leaders began attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 1993, no statement was issued after two days of talks in Papua New Guinea.
It is always a cause to mourn when a 13-year-old needlessly dies. Unfortunately, that was the painful fact Thailand has to deal with just recently when Anucha Tasako, who had been a Muay Thai fighter since the age of eight and had competed in 170 bouts, died of a brain haemorrhage at a charity fight near Bangkok last Saturday. He was knocked out by his opponent who was only two years older than him. The prize?
Following Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s surprise victory in Malaysia’s 14th general election on 9 May, which was widely seen as a step forward for democracy, analysts and heads of government worldwide are now turning their eyes to the rest of the region in anticipation of similar political reversals.Mahathir Mohamad, who led a coalition of opposition parties dubbed the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) to victory against the incumbent National Front (Barisan Nasional) party, based a larg
Two top leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime were found guilty of genocide on Friday, in a landmark ruling almost 40 years after the fall of a brutal regime that presided over the deaths of a quarter of the population.The Khmer Rouge's former head of state Khieu Samphan, 87, and "Brother Number 2" Nuon Chea, 92, are the two most senior living members of the ultra-Maoist group that seized control of Cambodia from 1975-1979.The reign of terror led by "Brother Number
China and the United States (US) crossed swords Saturday ahead of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, duelling over protectionism, trade tariffs and "chequebook diplomacy" as they laid out sharply contrasting visions for the Pacific Rim region.In combative back-to-back speeches at a business forum held on a hulking cruise ship moored in Port Moresby, Xi Jinping and US Vice President Mike Pence pulled few punches.The feisty exchanges laid the ground for what could be
It was just after dawn prayers when the caretaker at a Jakarta mosque noticed a man stealing from the donation box, prompting a furious mob to beat him to death - for taking the equivalent of US$130.The lynching was one of hundreds of vigilante killings across Indonesia in recent years, highlighting a brutal trend driven by rising religious conservatism and low faith in a corruption-riddled justice system.Mob violence has also been aggravated by rapid urbanisation that brings together strange
Singapore can now breathe easier as the 33rd ASEAN Summit came to a close yesterday, marking the end of its chairmanship. The second ASEAN summit of the year was a “star-studded affair” compared to the earlier one held in April.
While campaigning for the Indonesian presidential election is ongoing and the election itself slated to take place next year, a recent report noted that millennials in Indonesia are disenchanted with the country’s political establishment.The report was based on internal research carried out by presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s campaign team which shows that half of the country’s millennials are unlikely to vote because they see politics as what Prabowo’s running mate, Sandiaga Uno ref
The completion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been delayed once again to 2019. Nevertheless, leaders at the recently concluded ASEAN Summit noted that negotiations have advanced to the final stage.The RCEP encompasses 25 percent global gross domestic product (GDP), 45 percent of the total population, 30 percent of global income and 30 percent global trade.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen the testing of a "newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon", Pyongyang's state media reported Friday, in a move that will raise the temperature over denuclearisation talks.It marked the first official report of a weapons test by North Korea in nearly a year since it launched a delicate diplomacy with Washington over its nuclear and missile programme."Kim Jong-un visited the test ground of the Academy of Defence Science and su
