Showing 1 - 10 of 46
Myanmar's twin crises loom
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 01/08/2022
» While the rest of the world continues to be preoccupied by Covid-19 and fallout from Russia-Ukraine war, the downward spiral of Myanmar continues. A once-promising frontier market risks slipping into a Sri Lanka-like economic crisis, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis created by the cruelty of its military junta.
Politics and peril for Asian women
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 16/05/2022
» The political landscape in Asia has been very dynamic lately, but it is a disappointment to me personally that events have not been kind to women.
Bangladesh pursues careful Myanmar policy
Asia focus, Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan, Published on 02/05/2022
» The history of Myanmar is one of struggle with coups, military rule, religious persecution and ethnic conflict. The ongoing violence between the country's military and organised armed civilians is now leading the country to the verge of a full-blown civil war that is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Asean-US balancing act
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata and Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/04/2022
» The commitment of the United States to Southeast Asia since the end of the Vietnam War has been subject to a series of ebbs, flows and imbalances. History shows that it tends to wane whenever Washington is distracted by other global developments.
More young people in Myanmar taking up arms
Asia focus, Than Lwin Aye, Published on 28/02/2022
» Young people in Mon State who not long ago were actively engaged in campaigning for elections in Myanmar have shifted from protesting in the streets against the military to taking up arms to defend their rights and freedoms.
Wasted Year
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 21/02/2022
» Once perceived as Asia's final frontier, Myanmar has been tested severely by dual shocks -- a surge in Covid-19 cases in 2021 and the military coup that has brought its economy close to a standstill and left its people suffering from ongoing violence.
Myanmar tests Asean unity again
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 07/02/2022
» Feb 1 was a day of celebration as millions marked the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. But it was also a day of sober reflection as it reminded us about the military takeover in Myanmar exactly a year ago.
Myanmar soldiers collecting bills at gunpoint
Asia focus, By Richard C Paddock of the New York Times, Published on 31/01/2022
» The schoolteacher had just got out of bed when four Myanmar army soldiers pounded on her door. Her electricity payment was overdue, they said, and ordered her to pay it immediately at the government power company office.
Hun Sen's Myanmar gamble
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 17/01/2022
» I'm not a fan of Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for more than 38 years. A co-premier from 1993-97 before seizing power in a 1997 coup, the Cambodian leader has won all subsequent elections while political rivals have been jailed or exiled and critical media crushed. His legacy appears secure now that his Cambodian People's Party has endorsed his eldest son, 44-year-old army commander Hun Manet, as "future prime minister".
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Asia Focus Team, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.