Politics

Prime Minister Hun Sen wants to remain in office for another decade. He will be walking a tightrope if he does.
International relations

Hun Sen gently adjusts Cambodia's intimacy with China

Prime minister feels the disenchantment at home and anger from abroad

13 July 2019
As global average temperatures warm, glaciers are retreating.
Opinion

Himalayan states must unite to protect mountain environment

Time for a Himalayas Council to manage and safeguard vital water supplies

10 July 2019
The Dawei special economic zone was originally envisioned as a home for heavy industry, but much of the land is still vacant.
International relations

Myanmar economic zone reimagined as export hub to India

Japan hopes reworked Dawei will mean more leverage over Chinese influence

8 July 2019
A container terminal near Yangon: Myanmar has been building more port capacity as its economy grows.
Belt and Road

Myanmar's strategic coastline draws big Asian economies

Japan and India vie with China in construction race, but debt fears mount

3 July 2019
Personnel of the Royal Cambodian Navy attend a ceremony after participating in an exercise with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in Preah Sihanouk province, Cambodia, in February 2016.
International relations

US questions Cambodia over possible Chinese military presence

Phnom Penh denies speculation amid rising Beijing influence

1 July 2019
Rescuers pick through the rubble of the collapsed building in Cambodia's Sihanoukville on June 22.
International relations

Cambodia building collapse probed as anti-China sentiment simmers

Critics point to corruption while Hun Sen denies link to Beijing's influence

25 June 2019
Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gestures during a press conference following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations opening ceremony in Bangkok on June 23.
International relations

ASEAN seeks to steer middle path between US and China

Southeast Asian leaders come up with their own Indo-Pacific strategy

23 June 2019
Malaysia is lukewarm about joining military exercises yet accepts aerial surveillance drones from the U.S.
Opinion

Asia-Pacific's smaller states can be active players in great-power rivalry

US-China tensions are raising anxiety but Trump and Xi do not hold all the cards

18 June 2019
A day after being elected prime minister by Thailand's parliament, Prayuth Chan-ocha is seen before a meeting at the prime minister's office in Bangkok on June 6. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Comment

Southeast Asian politics slide back toward oppression

Democracy on the wane as wave of strongman rule sweeps the region

16 June 2019
Chinese and Cambodian workers at a construction site in Sihanoukville: official data shows 78,000 resident Chinese nationals in the city but with only 20,000 having work permits.
Opinion

Rising concern in Cambodia over immigrant workers

Inflows from China and elsewhere need better control and supervision

11 June 2019
Just as China bore the brunt of its mishandling of SARS, experts say the country is poised to incur serious economic consequences from African swine fever that could last well into the next year or two.
Agriculture

China's African swine fever outbreak ripples across Asia

As higher pork prices spark inflation, many see long-term economic impact

1 June 2019
Pichet Durongkaveroj, Thailand's minister of digital economy and society, speaks at the Future of Asia conference on May 31. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
The Future of Asia 2019

Thailand casts wide net for 5G partners amid Huawei concerns

Ericsson and Nokia are among the potential beneficiaries

31 May 2019
Myanmar Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, Kyaw Tint Swe, speaks during 25 th international conference on The Future of Asia on May 31, in Tokyo. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
The Future of Asia 2019

Myanmar says Bangladesh not helping refugee return

Minister says Myanmar will take back all Rohingya and provide resident certificates

31 May 2019
Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith talks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo. (Photo by Manami Yamada)    
The Future of Asia 2019

Laos can 'manage' debt to China, PM insists

Thongloun pushes back against warnings over infrastructure burden

31 May 2019
From left: Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina and Cambodia's Hun Sen speak at Nikkei's Future of Asia conference on May 30.
The Future of Asia 2019

Cambodia's Hun Sen quashes Chinese 'debt trap' fears

Political and business luminaries discuss Asia's future at Nikkei forum

30 May 2019
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expresses concern about the U.S.-China trade conflict at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on May 30. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
The Future of Asia 2019

Cambodia's Hun Sen quashes fears of Chinese 'debt trap'

PM calls on fellow leaders to adopt 'common stance' against protectionism

30 May 2019
The China-led Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Cambodia, pictured here under construction in 2016. After four years of work, the controversial hydropower project officially entered operation in 2018.
The Big Story

Southeast Asia gains new leverage as China and US battle for influence

Funding pours in as US allies seek to counter Belt and Road

29 May 2019
Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo walk to the gate at Insein Prison in Yangon on May 7 after being freed as part of a mass amnesty.
Politics

Myanmar media repression deepens despite release of Reuters pair

Aung San Suu Kyi's government has failed to nurture greater press freedom

14 May 2019
Reuters reporters Wa Lone, right, and Kyaw Soe Oo reunite with their children May 7 after spending more than 500 days behind bars in Myanmar.
Politics

Facing global isolation, Suu Kyi signs off on reporters' release

Myanmar's pardon of Reuters journalists draws praise, but not an end to scrutiny

8 May 2019
Balukhali refugee camp near Cox's Bazar: The annual monsoon rains are set to begin within weeks and aid organizations fear a humanitarian catastrophe.
Opinion

Rohingya refugees face no easy choices

Offer by Bangladesh to house them on remote island is best of poor range of options

3 May 2019
Railroad maintenance workers fix rail tracks outside Phnom Penh on April 22.
Economy

Thailand and Cambodia reopen rail and sea links as ties blossom

Leaving a love-hate relationship behind, both hope trade hits $15 billion by 2020

1 May 2019
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attends a groundbreaking ceremony for the Project for Flood Protection, donated by Japan, in Phnom Penh on March 4.
International relations

Cambodia's silent investment from Japan: reform or realpolitik?

Human rights advocates criticize Tokyo for 'acting like China'

30 April 2019
China has been investing in Cambodia's Sihanoukville, which will soon be linked to Phnom Penh with an expressway funded entirely by a Chinese state company.
Belt and Road

In Cambodia, even debt-free roads lead to more Chinese influence

Beijing-funded $2bn expressway raises questions about costs and benefits

29 April 2019
Stream article image
International relations

Thai-Cambodia railway resumes after 45 years, connecting business

Cross-border route offers truck-dependent region alternative logistics

23 April 2019
Amid chronic blackouts, the Cambodian People's Party government is getting poor marks for energy planning. 
Economy

Chinese construction rush aggravates Cambodia's electricity shortage

Hun Sen threatens energy denial to critics of heavy hydropower dependency

8 April 2019