Vietnam slams China over military drills in disputed sea (Today Online, 6 September 2017)
Vietnam slams China over military drills in disputed sea (Today Online, 6 September 2017) Vietnam has delivered a sharp rebuke to China over military drills in the South China Sea, the second such warning in a week as tensions rise between the countries over the disputed waterway. China and Vietnam have long traded barbs over…
Read MoreChina made a mistake by including Pakistan terror outfits in BRICS declaration: experts (The International News, 6 September 2017)
China made a mistake by including Pakistan terror outfits in BRICS declaration: experts (The International News, 6 September 2017) Chinese experts have opined that China has made a mistake by including militants groups based in Pakistan and Afghanistan in BRICS declaration. The experts are of the view that the move could prove costly for its…
Read MoreAsians are in the dark about the region’s water pollution crisis (Eco-Business, 6 September 2017)
Asians are in the dark about the region’s water pollution crisis (Eco-Business, 6 September 2017) Asia is home to a worsening water pollution crisis thanks to an accelerating but weakly regulated industrial boom, but its most vulnerable citizens are kept in the dark about whether the water they use for drinking, farming and fishing is safe,…
Read MoreChinese President Xi Jinping pushes for expanded Brics-Plus (Straits Times, 4 September 2017)
Chinese President Xi Jinping pushes for expanded Brics-Plus (Straits Times, 4 September 2017) Chinese President Xi Jinping has lauded the successes of a grouping made up of the world’s five major emerging economies amid doubts over its relevance. Speaking yesterday on the eve of the annual Brics summit in the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen,…
Read MoreChina demands Indonesia drop new name for Natuna waters (Jakarta Post, 3 September 2017)
China demands Indonesia drop new name for Natuna waters (Jakarta Post, 3 September 2017) China has issued a demand for Indonesia to reverse its decision to rename the South China Sea (SCS) waters that lie within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In July, the Indonesian government named the maritime region in question, which lies north…
Read MoreNew approaches to achieving ASEAN regionalism (East Asia Forum, 2 September 2017)
New approaches to achieving ASEAN regionalism (East Asia Forum, 2 September 2017) Throughout its 50-year history of regional cooperation, legalisation and institutionalisation have not featured all that prominently in ASEAN’s diplomatic repertoire. Especially in its formative years, ASEAN relied on political flexibility and institutional informality, eschewing binding legal relations. Even as laws and institutions were…
Read MoreASEAN MPs Warn of Rights Deterioration in Cambodia Amid NGO, Media Crackdown (Radio Free Asia, 31 August 2017)
ASEAN MPs Warn of Rights Deterioration in Cambodia Amid NGO, Media Crackdown (Radio Free Asia, 31 August 2017) Southeast Asian members of parliament expressed “grave concerns” over what they called a “worsening human rights situation” in Cambodia, where the government has launched a crackdown on NGOs and independent media outlets ahead of general elections next…
Read MoreIndia and China agree to end border standoff (Channel News Asia, 28 August 2017)
India and China agree to end border standoff (Channel News Asia, 28 August 2017) India and China have agreed to an “expeditious disengagement” of troops in a disputed border area where their soldiers have been locked in a stand-off for more than two months, India’s foreign ministry said. Indian and Chinese troops have been confronting…
Read MoreHow can RCEP benefit ASEAN? (Today Online, 25 August 2017)
How can RCEP benefit ASEAN? (Today Online, 25 August 2017) ASEAN is no stranger to trade deals, having inked its first regional trade deal with China in 2002. It has similar standalone “Plus One” free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand, which have collectively created a “spaghetti bowl”…
Read More(Re)realising the ASEAN Economic Community (East Asia Forum, 24 August 2017)
(Re)realising the ASEAN Economic Community (East Asia Forum, 24 August 2017) As ASEAN turns 50, how much closer is it towards achieving economic integration? The grouping fell short of its target of realising the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015, deferring 105 of its 506 measures. ASEAN declared that the AEC had…
Read MoreNorth Korea: US says ‘no value’ in UN Security Council meeting (BBC, 31 July 2017)
North Korea: US says ‘no value’ in UN Security Council meeting (BBC, 31 July 2017) The US says it will not call for a UN Security Council meeting over North Korea’s missile tests because it would produce “nothing of consequence”. Such a meeting would send a message to North Korea that the international community was…
Read MoreASEAN Economic Community fails to bridge skills gap (Asia Times, 31 July 2017)
ASEAN Economic Community fails to bridge skills gap (Asia Times, 31 July 2017) Almost three million Southeast Asian professionals are working in Europe, North America and Oceania at a time when their home region is bidding to bridge skills gaps by facilitating greater labor mobility within its borders through the newly enacted Association of Southeast…
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