How 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…
Read MoreSingapore disputes US human trafficking report (Straits Times, 30 July 2017)
Singapore disputes US human trafficking report (Straits Times, 30 July 2017) Singapore has taken issue with an annual report by the US State Department for depicting an inaccurate and less positive picture of the human trafficking situation here. An inter-agency task force co-chaired by the Home Affairs and Manpower ministries said there were 17 sex…
Read MoreUS, allies prepared to use ‘overwhelming force’ in North Korea, general says (Fox News, 30 July 2017)
US, allies prepared to use ‘overwhelming force’ in North Korea, general says (Fox News, 30 July 2017) The statement from Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander, came after the militaries of the U.S., South Korea and Japan spent 10 hours conducting bomber-jet drills over the Korean Peninsula. The training mission was a…
Read MoreThe ASEAN Economic Community: A work in progress (Manila Times, 29 July 2017)
The ASEAN Economic Community: A work in progress (Manila Times, 29 July 2017) According to the AEC Blueprint 2015, the aim is “to transform ASEAN into a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy.” The ASEAN Economic…
Read MoreAt 50, ASEAN is a neighbourhood, not yet community (Jakarta Post, 29 July 2017)
At 50, ASEAN is a neighbourhood, not yet community (Jakarta Post, 29 July 2017) South-east Asian countries today are far more integrated than they have ever been in the modern history of the region, but ASEAN has some way to go before it can call itself a real community. The 10 member countries grouped in…
Read MoreXi Jinping personally behind island-building in the South China Sea (South China Morning Post, 28 July 2017)
Xi Jinping personally behind island-building in the South China Sea (South China Morning Post, 28 July 2017) An editorial in Study Times – put out by the Central Party School, the Communist Party’s top academy – was the latest to lavish praise on Xi for his tough stance on territorial issues with the country’s Asian neighbours. “[President…
Read MorePermanent Court of Arbitration to set up office in Singapore (PCA, 25 July 2017)
Permanent Court of Arbitration to set up office in Singapore (PCA, 25 July 2017) The Singapore Ministry of Law and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) announced today that the PCA will set up a staffed office in Singapore to administer PCA hearings held in Singapore and Asia. The Singapore office will be the PCA’s…
Read MoreAustralia’s offshore refugee processing causes ‘extensive suffering’ and must end, says UN agency chief (UN News, 24 July 2017)
Australia’s offshore refugee processing causes ‘extensive suffering’ and must end, says UN agency chief (UN News, 24 July 2017) Four years on, Australia’s offshore processing has left some 2,000 people languishing in unacceptable circumstances – causing physical and psychological harm, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which has called for an immediate end to…
Read MoreWhat’s in a Name? South China Sea Claimants Seek to Remove ‘China’ (Voice of America, 24 July 2017)
What’s in a Name? South China Sea Claimants Seek to Remove ‘China’ (Voice of America, 24 July 2017) Some nations have renamed parts of the South China Sea to strengthen their claims over the disputed waterway. But how much effect do such changes have on territorial disagreements? Indonesia is the latest country to take such…
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