Politics

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Politics

Japan, China play for 'swing states' in regional trade game

Deal gains prominence after TPP's demise, but discord among 16 nations remains

25 February 2017
Kachin Independence Army soldiers undergo early morning physical training at a KIA training centre near Laiza in Myanmar's Kachin State. (Photo by Steve Tickner)
Politics

Aung San Suu Kyi and the peace process

Inaction at the top has dashed earlier optimism about solutions to Myanmar's ethnic conflicts

24 February 2017
ASEAN foreign ministers pose for a group photo on the island of Boracay, in the Philippines, on Feb. 21.
Politics

ASEAN wants to seal a South China Sea deal with Beijing this year

Bloc aims to forge 'framework' for code of conduct in disputed waters

23 February 2017
Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein, center, takes part in Lunar New Year celebrations in the city's Chinatown on Jan. 28.
Politics

Aung San Suu Kyi finds a potential successor

Yangon chief minister Phyo Min Thein has big plans for his city

23 February 2017
Members of the press have been flocking to the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur since the killing of Kim Jong Nam.
Politics

North Korea facing Southeast Asian rift after murder

Kim Jong Nam's death could further isolate Pyongyang

23 February 2017
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Economy

Global pact to make customs procedures easy, transparent

WTO agreement set to take effect Wednesday; seen slashing costs by 10%

22 February 2017
ASEAN foreign ministers pose for a group photo on Boracay Island, in the Philippines, on Feb. 21.
Economy

ASEAN wants South China Sea deal with Beijing this year

Trump, Kim Jong Un's brother also discussed at foreign ministers meeting

21 February 2017
Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh.
Politics

Cambodia passes law enabling dissolution of political parties

Western critics see existential threat to already weak multiparty system

21 February 2017
Policy continuity is crucial for Myanmar to attract foreign investors and achieve economic stability.
Politics

Myanmar needs policy continuity to succeed

The best-performing nations stick to consistent plans and overarching policy goals

20 February 2017
President Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Postmaster General Joel Otarra unveiled a special postage stamp on Jan. 15 to honor the ASEAN chair rotating to the Philippines for 2017.
Politics

ASEAN prepares to gauge the Trump effect

Regional foreign ministers gather for first post-Obama meeting

19 February 2017
Angelina Jolie, left, stands with ​author​ Loung Ung at the press event for ​Jolie's ​new ​ film, "First They Killed My Father,"​ in Siem Reap, Cambodia on Feb. 18​. (Photo by G​e​orge Styllis)
Politics

Jolie premieres film on Khmer Rouge horrors

Hollywood actress turned director portrays child's eye view of Cambodia's 'killing fields'

19 February 2017
Min Ko Naing (white shirt), a leading 88 Generation member, talks with Tin Oo, a founder of the National League for Democracy, before a 2014 rally for constitutional reform in Yangon. (Photo by Simon Roughneen)
Politics

Myanmar by-elections test government support

Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling NLD faces pressure from emerging new opposition

17 February 2017
High-speed trains are parked at a maintenance facility in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou. China is competing with Japan for railway projects across Asia.
Economy

Japan and China battle for rail projects in Southeast Asia

Safe but costly shinkansen a tough sell, but Beijing's terms a turnoff for some

16 February 2017
Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy says the timing of his resignation is intended to embarrass Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party.
Politics

Cambodia's Sam Rainsy throws politics into disarray

After a dramatic resignation via social media, opposition leader remains coy about his future ambitions

13 February 2017
A government security guard checks on a truck in Vientiane on Sept. 5 ahead of the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Politics

Troubling legacy of a forgotten war haunts Laos

Laos today bears the scars of America's secret war in the 1960s

10 February 2017
Not as collegiate as they look: ASEAN leaders display their trademark handshake at their Vientiane summit on Sept. 7.
Rohingya crisis

Plight of the Rohingya strains ASEAN unity

'Noninterference' put to test as Malaysia blasts Myanmar's actions in Rakhine

9 February 2017
A Rohingya woman in Maungdaw District, Arakan State, Myanmar (Photo by Carlos Sardina Galache)
Rohingya crisis

Rohingya -- Myanmar's stateless and nameless

Official policy rejects citizenship rights

9 February 2017
Kem Sokha, vice president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, greets supporters at the opposition party's headquarters in Phnom Penh in October 2016.
Politics

Opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party may split

Ruling party suspected of fueling rivalries to gain an electoral edge

9 February 2017
A Rohingya woman in Maungdaw District, Arakan State, Myanmar (Photo by Carlos Sardina Galache)
Politics

Rohingya -- Myanmar's stateless and nameless

Official policy rejects citizenship rights

9 February 2017
Not as collegiate as they look: ASEAN leaders display their trademark handshake at their Vientiane summit on Sept. 7.
Politics

Plight of the Rohingya strains ASEAN unity

'Noninterference' put to test as Malaysia blasts Myanmar's actions in Rakhine

9 February 2017
Thai demonstrators rally outside Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok against the military crackdown on the Rohingya on Nov. 25.
Politics

Richard Horsey: Has Myanmar's Rakhine State reached a turning point?

Aung San Suu Kyi must use her political capital to change the crisis-wracked region

9 February 2017
Pursuit of peace: Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the opening of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Naypyitaw on Jan. 1.
Politics

Embattled Suu Kyi crafts a 'fightback' strategy

Myanmar's de facto leader aims to counter criticism over Rohingya, reform delays

9 February 2017
Suu Kyi protege Zayar Thaw is a rapper-turned lawmaker in Myanmar. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Politics

From rapper to Myanmar lawmaker

Once jailed for his anti-junta music, Zayar Thaw is now changing politics from within

9 February 2017
The military crackdown in Rakhine had sent some 70,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing to Bangladesh as of early February.
Politics

Chilling developments in Rohingya crisis put Suu Kyi in hot seat

Escalating violence, refugee flows threaten Myanmar icon's global standing

9 February 2017
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe inspect troops at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on Jan. 12.
Economy

Michael Vatikiotis: Asia can fill the power vacuum left by the West

Asia must strive to protect its freedoms as the world shifts amid US protectionism and waning Western influence

9 February 2017