Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Asean centrality in a changing world
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/04/2024
» What is Asean centrality? It can mean different things to different people, but broadly, it can be seen as a regional framework that supports Asean's role as the dominant regional platform to overcome common challenges and engage with external powers.
Vietnam's 'bamboo' foreign policy clout
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 25/04/2023
» Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian country at this critical moment to be facing a major challenge as it attempts to juggle the three great powers -- China, Russia, and the US -- simultaneously. It is as if Hanoi is keeping a dagger, a bomb, and a gun in perpetual mid-air flight to ensure the tripartite relations will not crash along the way. It is bamboo diplomacy Vietnamese style, at its very best in keeping these extraordinary allies and friends at bay. In recent years, the bamboo policy description has been widely used due to the country's distinctive diplomacy.
Niwat award a call to act
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/05/2022
» After two decades of campaigning to protect the Mekong River, Niwat Roykaew, a local teacher and founder of the Chiang Khong Conservation Group in Chiang Rai, finally received the accolade he deserved. Mr Niwat was one of six recipients of this year's Goldman Environmental Prize, a prestigious award for grassroots environmental activism.
Migrant workers and Covid limbo
Oped, Yen Nguyen, Published on 17/09/2021
» Among the most vulnerable groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Asean's migrant workers find themselves living in limbo.
Vax donors, big and small, pitch in
Oped, Uyen Diep, Published on 26/08/2021
» Mai Nguyen, a 27-year-old English teacher, transferred money not once, but thrice, into Vietnam's Covid-19 vaccination fund, through which the Southeast Asian country has been collecting donations in an all-out campaign to speed up the pace of inoculation amid the pandemic's most severe outbreak to date.
Afghanistan: The same old sell-out
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 12/03/2021
» In an letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last weekend, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken insisted that Mr Ghani agree to share power with the Taliban insurgents in a transitional government, to be followed at some point by some sort of election. Understandably, the Afghan leader views this as a shotgun marriage in which the Taliban will hold the shotgun.
Malaysia's forced deportations cannot be tolerated
Oped, Hanh Nguyen, Published on 10/03/2021
» The Feb 1 putsch by Myanmar's military has halted the country's democratic transition, sparking nationwide protests. Shortly after, on Feb 24, amid mounting concerns over the increasing use of violence against civilians in Myanmar, Malaysia deported 1,086 Myanmar nationals back into the depths of the chaos. Malaysia's actions are the latest blow to the multiple crises facing the people of Myanmar, adding a new burden to a fragile state grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, unresolved ethnic armed conflicts and an increasingly violent coup. It raises the alarm about the increasing insecurity faced by refugees and migrants from Myanmar in other countries in the region, including Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Myanmar grappling with infodemic
Oped, Moe Myint, Published on 25/12/2020
» Be it false claims that drinking liquor or ginger juice will repel Covid-19, or that eating leaves of the neem tree will protect one from it, Facebook user Pa Pa has encountered them all in the varied, virulent strains of misinformation thriving around the pandemic in Myanmar.
Covid and the climate crisis in SE Asia
Oped, Johanna Son, Published on 17/09/2020
» 'A global reset", "a sick planet", "health security" are huge, heavy phrases that have been swirling in the global psyche for most of this Covid-19-marked year. They speak of the "must-do-something" type of issues that weigh on the minds of people everywhere, including in Southeast Asia, as they hope for a post-pandemic period to come.
Unacceptable media move
Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/07/2018
» The constitution shepherded into place last year by the military regime seems at first glance to be clear about freedom of the press. Media "shall enjoy the liberty to report news or express opinion", it states in Section 35. That is even extended to every person, not just the media. It sounds good until you get well into Section 34, which contains that hugely limiting word "except".