Economy

A containership off Singapore: Europe accounts for 9% of ASEAN exports, according to Maybank.
Ukraine war

ASEAN faces 'collateral damage' from Ukraine war's Europe impact

From Singapore to Thailand, spillover threatens COVID-hit economies anew

27 March 2022
The railway was built by a Chinese state-owned company at a cost of around $6 billion, 70% of which was borne by China.
International relations

China-Laos railway begins with limited service

Southeast Asia's first high-speed link to stop at Chinese border for now

3 December 2021
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan said on Friday that Beijing will "treat ASEAN as a priority."
Belt and Road

China promises to raise imports from ASEAN ahead of new rail link

Train line to Vientiane, third connection for the bloc, due to open Dec. 2

10 September 2021
This Chinese-financed expressway connecting Vientiane with Vang Vieng in Laos opened at the end of 2020.
Belt and Road

Laos deepens reliance on China for key transport projects

Construction cost could amount to around $18bn amid 'debt trap' concerns

12 July 2021
A food seller sails her boat at Cai Rang floating market on Mekong river in Can Tho, Vietnam, on May 5: more than 70 million people rely on the river for their livelihood.
Opinion

Why we should care about fate of the Mekong

Worsening environmental degradation will impact millions

12 July 2021
Under a proposed bilateral agreement, Vietnam is set to send its workers to Israel to learn agricultural techniques used there. 
Agriculture

Southeast Asia looks to Israeli tech to improve farming techniques

Israel companies offer ways to boost production as region faces supply threats

20 June 2021
Khemmani Pholsena, left, reportedly attended the same elementary school as Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Politics

Laos taps Xi classmate as presidential aide, deepening China tilt

Ex-commerce chief Khemmani offers personal link to Vientiane's top creditor

26 March 2021
Thongloun Sisoulith will oversee an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. 
Politics

New Laos president faces rising China debt and battered economy

Party General Secretary Thongloun enjoys high support as 'clean' leader

23 March 2021
Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has been elected as the country's secretary-general. (Photo by Manami Yamada)
Politics

Laos promotes PM Thongloun as leader of communist party

Under new secretary-general, impoverished nation expected to pivot futher to China

15 January 2021
Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. China is Laos' largest lender.
Economy

Laos shifts to China equity from loans as party congress starts

Beijing's communist sibling pushed to salvage state enterprises amid pandemic

13 January 2021
Workers in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang build the first rail line linking the country to China in February. Laos is the only Asian country rated "CCC" by Fitch.
Economy

Laos credit downgrade signals 'real' default risk as China looms

Fitch's rare cut to 'CCC' raises possibility of relief from Beijing

24 September 2020
A worker packs polio vaccine vials in Bio Farma's factory: the company is the largest vaccine manufacturer in Southeast Asia.
Opinion

Southeast Asia is on the coronavirus vaccine hunt

Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have successful pharmaceutical sectors

1 June 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, and Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, right, pose at the East Asia Summit in Thailand in 2019. 
International relations

Japan's judicial diplomacy at crossroads as Laos enacts civil code

Legal assistance to Southeast Asia brings result, but budget constraints loom

31 May 2020
A poster warns about the coronavirus on a street in Hanoi. Vietnam has recorded just over 300 cases with no deaths.
Economy

Vietnam and Mekong peers pay economic price despite low virus tolls

Promising ASEAN quartet likely to fortify and diversify after pandemic cuts growth

21 May 2020
A Buddhist monks walks past a temple in Vientiane.
Coronavirus

Virus-free Laos lifts shutters on shops and restaurants

State slowly reopens economy while vigilant against new cases

2 May 2020
People sleep on benches at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok on Apr. 3: the urban poor are at risk, living in overcrowded spaces.
Opinion

Governments facing tough choices in COVID-19 crisis: World Bank VP

Countries in East Asia and Pacific must expand effective programs for poverty relief

27 April 2020
A medical staff takes samples at a drive-thru testing center in Daegu, South Korea, on Mar. 3; the U.S. can learn from its partners.
Opinion

US can outshine China at coronavirus medical diplomacy

Washington needs to boost existing anti-pandemic research networks in Asia

21 April 2020
A girl from the Khmu tribe in northern Laos works burned land cleared for crops. (Photo by Robert Bociaga)
Belt and Road

Chinese investment upheavals anger Laos' indigenous tribes

Rural communities face lifestyle changes as authoritarian state develops

5 March 2020
G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Chantilly, France, July 17, 2019.
Your Week in Asia

G-20 finance ministers, Nissan shareholders and a China-ASEAN meeting

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest political and business events

17 February 2020
Hun Sen is adamant that Cambodia is not going to bow to European demands. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Opinion

Punishing Cambodia is going to backfire on EU

Removing tariff-free access will drive Phnom Penh toward Beijing's orbit

14 February 2020
A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 5.
Coronavirus

Coronavirus exposes Southeast Asia's public health shortfalls

Experts say health infrastructure remains 'systematically underfinanced'

13 February 2020
The Westerdam cruise ship anchored near Sihanoukville port in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia, on Feb. 13. It had been denied permission to dock at five ports before Cambodia agreed to accept it. 
Coronavirus

Westerdam finally arrives in Cambodia after 5 ports refused

Prime Minister Hun Sen says decision is "humanitarian"

13 February 2020
Women work on a  production line at a shoe factory in Kampong Speu, Cambodia.
Trade

Cambodia loses EU tariff privileges on $1bn worth of trade

Southeast Asian nation's top trading partner cites human rights violations

13 February 2020
Foreign students in Japan are allowed to work in unskilled-labor positions, such as convenience store work, for up to 28 hours per week. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Japan immigration

Japan intensifies crackdown on student visa overstayers

Number of countries subject to stricter checks to increase tenfold

11 February 2020
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's human rights record has been criticized by the European Union, which is set to announce its decision Wednesday on removing trade privileges on some Cambodian exports. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Trade

EU to end privileges on some Cambodia exports: lawmaker

Decision due Wednesday could hurt nation's $9.5bn apparel sector

9 February 2020