Politics

Asia's philanthropists have not yet reached their potentials at all.
Economy

Asian philanthropists can potentially give twice as much as US

Charitable donations can top $500 billion with proper tax incentives, regulatory reforms

16 January 2018
Myanmar police officers walk near the border with Bangladesh in the town of Taungpyoletwea. The short bridge behind them separates the two countries. (Photo by Hiroshi Kotani)
15 January 2018
Rappler condemns the Philippine government's decision to close its website. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Politics

Philippines shuts down news site critical of Duterte

Independent media hounded in Southeast Asia

15 January 2018
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono visits a village in Maungdaw region in Rakhine that used to be home to around 1,000 Rohingya Muslims.
International relations

Japan's foreign minister visits Myanmar Rohingya villages

Work underway at border areas to prepare for return of refugees

14 January 2018
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, left, and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a news conference Friday in Naypyitaw.
International relations

Japan offers $23m in fresh aid for Rohingya refugees

Myanmar leader Suu Kyi calls for peaceful coexistence with Muslim minority

13 January 2018
Regardless of what the Western countries do, Myanmar's regional partners will likely continue to trade, invest and engage.
Politics

Myanmar economy grows despite refugee crisis

China and other Asian partners invest despite human rights concerns

12 January 2018
Rohingya refugees warm themselves by a fire at Palong Khali refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Jan. 9.
Rohingya crisis

Myanmar soldiers killed 10 Rohingya, military says

First admission of guilt expected to fuel stronger global condemnation

11 January 2018
Rohingya refugees wait for rice delivery at the Nayapara refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Dec. 25, 2017.
Rohingya crisis

Myanmar's China, Japan ties bring breathing room on Rohingya

Suu Kyi's government adamant that no evidence of abuses exists

5 January 2018
Reporters hold a protest on June 30 calling on the Myanmar government and military authorities to release reporters who were arrested in Yangon.
Politics

Freedom of speech takes a drubbing in Southeast Asia

Backsliding by Myanmar, media crackdowns elsewhere alarm local, global critics

2 January 2018
An auto plant in Vietnam's Vinh Phuc Province: The abolition of tariffs has brought the industry to a critical juncture.
Economy

Sink-or-swim time for ASEAN latecomers as tariffs come down

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam enter free-trade deep end with mixed feelings

1 January 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects artillery launchers ahead of a military drill on April 25, 2017.
Politics

Politics will again steal the Asian limelight in 2018

World awaits resolution to thorny issues that plagued the region throughout last year

31 December 2017
Refugees can cause environmental concerns in neighboring countries in addition to being economic and political problems.
Politics

Rohingya crisis highlights risk of 'weaponizing' refugee flows

Bangladesh bears brunt of Myanmar's refugee exodus, though real costs may emerge later

31 December 2017
A portion of Japan's wartime "death railway," now operated by the State Railway of Thailand (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
Economy

Thai-Myanmar link lays road to prosperity over dark history

Southern Economic Corridor will tie Southeast Asian markets to Indian Ocean

30 December 2017
The border crossing between northeastern India and Myanmar is being opened up at Moreh as part of a trilateral highway project to connect India with ASEAN. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
International relations

Modi backs India-Myanmar-Thailand highway's Indochina extension

Connectivity with Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam seen as response to China's Belt and Road

29 December 2017
The Mayner Ghona refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Looking ahead 2018

Will Rohingya refugees start returning to Myanmar in 2018?

Most went back home from Bangladesh in two earlier exoduses but this time is different

22 December 2017
Nikkei illustration
Economy

China has India surrounded in their new Great Game

One after another, Beijing is pulling South Asian governments into its orbit

21 December 2017
Rohingya refugees carry their belongings along the bank of a river in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Nov. 27 after arriving on an improvised raft.
Politics

Nay Yan Oo: Sanctions will not help the Rohingya

Engagement, not punishment, is needed to resolve Myanmar's humanitarian crisis

21 December 2017
Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested last week.
Politics

Pressure mounts on Myanmar to free 2 Reuters reporters

UN and EU lead condemnation over detention of men covering Rohingya

20 December 2017
Nikkei illustration
Asia Insight

China has India surrounded in their new Great Game

Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan -- Beijing is pulling South Asia into its orbit

19 December 2017
Rohingya refugees wait for food supplies at the Nayapara camp in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh.
Rohingya crisis

Rohingya death toll in Myanmar attacks tops 6,700, aid group says

Doctors Without Borders also criticizes return proposal as premature

15 December 2017
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, welcomes Myanmar President Htin Kyaw in Tokyo on Dec. 14. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)
Politics

Japan pursues economic ties with Myanmar, avoids Rohingya criticism

Two countries agree to cooperate on urban development, infrastructure

14 December 2017
Buddhist monks protest the visit of a U.N. official in Yangon on Jan. 16, 2015. According to local media reports, they were angry that the international organization had urged the government to give members of the Rohingya minority citizenship.
The Big Story

Religious extremism poses threat to ASEAN's growth

Aided by social media, hardliners gain mainstream support

13 December 2017
A Twitter logo is seen in front of a computer screen displaying an Islamic State flag. Twitter says it has shut down tens of thousands of terrorism-related accounts.
Politics

Ugly social media wars fueling intolerance in Asia

Similar tactics are cropping up across different areas and different faiths

13 December 2017
Rohingya refugees cross a stream Tuesday from Bangladesh to a no man's land at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Politics

UN official urges accountability for Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing'

Security Council meets to discuss ongoing crisis

13 December 2017
Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers opening remarks at the third Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Yangon. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Economy

Water demand, sanitation top agenda at Myanmar summit

Infrastructure lags behind in Asia-Pacific region's fast-growing cities

12 December 2017