-
Tag Cloud
APEC APEC-CEO 2009 asean aung san suu kyi australia barack obama Bjørn Lomborg Cambodia china China-Asia Relations Climate Change economics economy energy FTA G20 Global Warming Human Rights india indonesia iran Japan korea malaysia Myanmar north korea okinawa PECC Politics Regionalism Simon Tay Singapore southeast Asia south korea taiwan thailand Thaksin the philippines UN united states us us-asia relations USA vietnam Yukio Hatoyama
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
Latest Headlines
-
South Korea Ends Warship Investigation, Formally Accuses the North
With strong US backing, South Korea officially wrapped up a painstaking investigation into a naval disaster widely suspected to be the work of North Korea. It is reported that South has found “decisive evidence” with a similar chemical make-up to elements found in a stray North Korean torpedo the South Koreans found seven years ago. Gathered [...] -
China opens first office in Taiwan to promote tourism
Signalling improved relations between China and Taiwan, China opened its new office in Taiwan, hoping to boost tourism. China’s quasi-official Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association formally launched its Taipei office — reportedly it’s largest outside the mainland — at a gala dinner at the capital’s Grand Hotel. This event happened three days after Taipei opened its [...] -
South Korea Fires Warning Shots at Border
Two North Korean vessels have violated a disputed border known as the Northern Limit Line on separate occasions within an hour, causing two warning shots to be fired from South Korean patrol ships. Both boats retreated after the warnings were broadcast with no injuries sustained. The North has never recognised the border, since it was [...] -
China and USA- Human Rights
For the first time in two years, China and the United States of America are discussing human rights, with a feud brewing over US support for efforts to crack through China’s Internet firewall. Senior officials from both countries had closed door dialogues over a span of two days, in Washington. The United States has pledged to [...] -
Dissident Thai General Shot in the Head, Heightening Tensions
A reactionary Thai general who has affiliated himself with the demonstrators who have paralyzed Bangkok for weeks was shot in the head and critically wounded. The attack occurred during an interview with a New York Times reporter, as the military began sealing off a barricaded encampment of anti-government protesters. Khattiya Sawasdipol, also known as Seh Daeng [...] -
Unlikely Resolution, Thai Protestors Refuse to Disband
Thailand’s Abhisit Vejjajiva urged anti-government “Red Shirt” protesters to commit to his reconciliation plan and pack up their demonstration site. While they have agreed to the prime minister’s offer of holding elections in November, street rallies are set to persist until the deputy premier is formally charged over the deadly crackdown held last month. [...] -
Thai Red Shirts Push New Demands
Aggressive ‘Red Shirt’ opposition protesters have reinstated that they will maintain their crippling rally in the Thai capital until Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban surrenders to the police over a deadly crackdown last month. The demand has doused speculation of an imminent end to a prolonged crisis that has killed 29 people and paralyzed [...] -
Philippines Election 2010
Philippines Senator Benigno Aquino was headed for victory, in the country’s presidential elections, according to the latest tallies of votes. Currently Aquino is leading the race with 41%, followed by former President Joseph Estrada with 26%. Aquino, 50, who campaigned on the slogan “If there’s no corruption, there’s no poverty”, had announced his plans to stand [...] -
North Korea Reaffirms Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il announced his commitment to nuclear disarmament a year after quitting talks on its atomic arsenal, during a secretive 5 day visit to China. North Korea conducted tests on 2 nuclear missiles last year, angering the US and its allies. It remains unclear whether North Korea plans to ameliorate conditions [...] -
Proposed General Elections in Thailand- November 14 2010
Thailand may hold general elections on November 14, prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said in a televised address on 3rd May 2010. This plan includes an offer of new elections on Nov. 14, about a year before Abhisit’s term would end, if the Red Shirts stop their protests.The elections will be held on the proposed date [...] -
International Intervention in Thailand
Thailand has warned the international community against meddling with its affairs relating to the ‘red shirt’ protests. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the Thai government was “in control” of the situation and did not need foreign assistance. Recently the ‘red shirt’ protestors released a letter that they sent to the European Union’s Ambassador David Lipman, which [...] -
China lifts entry ban on HIV/AIDS foreigners
BEIJING – The Chinese government has permanently lifted a 20-year old ban on entry of foreigners with HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and leprosy, as well as narrowed the restrictive scope for mentally ill and tuberculosis patients to only “severe mental patients” and those with infectious tuberculosis. There are also pragmatic reasons for the revision, which comes [...] -
Suu Kyi’s Party NLD Dissolved
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the symbol of resistance against the ruling junta, has been dissolved in compliance with new electoral laws. The National League for Democracy declined to meet a May 6 deadline to re-register as a political party and boycotted the vote scheduled for later this year. Registering for the polls would [...] -
Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani quits
Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has resigned from her post to join the World Bank as a Managing Director in June. This move is a huge setback to Indonesia’s anti-corruption efforts, and sent share prices into a sharp drop following the announcement. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said of her resignation: "We are going to lose one [...] -
Singapore: $4b Shell chemical complex opens
Shell opened its $4b Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex in Singapore’s Pulau Bukom and Jurong Island yesterday. The complex is Shell’s largest investment in the petrochemical industry, and will be a good boost to the chemical industry in Singapore, which forms 33% of Singapore’s total manufacturing output. Shell’s decision to develop its petrochemical operations in Singapore has [...] -
Malaysia: Nuclear Power in 10 years?
The Malaysian government has given the green light to build a nuclear power plant, planned to start opeating in 2021, revealed Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui. He said that the suitability of sites were currently being discussed. He acknowledged that "safety aspects, human resources and the location" must be examined when [...] -
Vietnam to spend $11b on islands
Vietnam will be spending US$8.5b to boost seafood, tourism, agro-forestry and other sectors in a string of islands along its coast. This includes the Spratlys, an island that is part of a sovereignty dispute between Vietnam and China. The 10-year plan will develop a string of islands stretching from Phu Quoc, near Cambodia in the south-west, [...] -
Thailand: On The Road to Reconciliation?
Leaders of Thailand’s red shirts anti-government protest group have conditionally agreed to a 14 Nov election. The election forms one part of PM Abhisit’s five-point proposal for national reconciliation. Besides the elections, the plan also calls to restore the monarchy’s place above politics, greater social equality, curbs on political hate speech, an independent investigation into [...] -
Should SEA Think Nuclear?
Even as governments want to move ahead, many questions remain to be answered Published: TODAY, 30 Apr 2010 Following the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave assurances that even as the Republic moves towards nuclear energy, its feasibility will first be studied. It is not only Singapore that is thinking about [...] -
Japan PM Visits Okinawa in Attempt to Appease Protestors
Embattled premier Yukio Hatoyama is scheduled to visit Okinawa island to resolve a damaging row over an unpopular US airbase that has strained ties with Washington for months. He hopes to appease the mass protesters by presenting a new plan to end the dispute which has damaged his support ratings ahead of upcoming summer elections. [...] -
Thai PM Abhisit Cautions Protestors
Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has threatened to takeover a secure encampment set up by the Red Shirts anti-government protestors situated in Bangkok. In a televised discussion on Sunday Abhisit also stated that the process and measures he will undertake depends on various factors, presumably the protesters’ actions. Abhisit has rejected the call by the Red [...] -
Protestors Gather in Okinawa Against US Base
Nearly 100,000 demonstrators gathered in Okinawa on Sunday to rally for a long-term US air base to shift off the island. This dispute is one of the largest in years, and is driving a large wedge between Tokyo-Washington relations. Protestors signaled warnings toward Prime Minister Hatoyama by dressing in yellow, reminding him of the promise he [...] -
PM Anwar Faces Possible Suspension
Malaysia’s infamous opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim faces suspension and possible ban as a member of parliament for damaging statements made against the governement’s new “1Malaysia” racial unity slogan. The opposition claims that Apco has links to Israel, and that it is behind the “1Malaysia” concept promoted by Prime Minsiter Najib Razak. They also accuse Israel [...] -
Thai Army Considers Force; Red Shirts Open to Talks
The Thai military has declared punishment will be enforced on anti-government protesters if they march on Bangkok’s central business district, heightening fears of more violence after bloody clashes left 24 people dead a week ago. The demonstrations have evolved from peaceful protests into a dangerous standoff between the army and a rogue military faction that [...] -
South Korea Determined to Uncover Tragedy’s Cause
During an emotional televised speech on Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak vowed a “resolute” response to the sinking of a warship at the Yellow Sea last month after North Korea broke weeks of silence to angrily deny involvement in the disaster. South Korea has not directly blamed the communist North for the sinking near their [...] -
China following managed floating exchange rate regime
In the midst of the BRIC summit, President Hu Jintao said that China has been following a managed floating exchange rate regime in accordance with the principle of independent initiative, controllability and gradualism. Hu said “despite the tremendous difficulties caused by the global financial crisis, we have kept the RMB exchange rate basically stable and have [...] -
Thai protests: Effects on Tourism and Economy
Foreign investors have been pumping money into stocks in the country, boosting the market by 7.5% (over a period of 6months), but the escalation of violence has brought investments to a standstill. The tourism industry has faced a severe blow in the midst of the current ‘red shirt’ protests. Kasem Prunratanamala (head of research at CIMB [...] -
Thailand’s ruling party faces dissolution
Thailand’s Election Commission ruled Monday that the ruling Democrat Party be dissolved for alleged misuse of poll donations, in a potential victory for anti-government protesters who paraded slain comrades through Bangkok to press the prime minister to resign. The ruling, which would require Constitutional Court endorsement to take effect, came soon after the deadliest political clashes [...] -
Obama’s Nuclear Summit Makes Headway
Obama’s fight against Iran’s nuclear proliferation seemed off to a promising start. Obama set the tone with one-on-one meetings with various world leaders, procuring a verbal promise from China’s president Hu Jintao to engage in sanction negotiations against Iran. In a 90-minute conversation before the start of the nuclear security summit, the two leaders also [...] -
Thai Situation Escalates, Forces Abhisit to Cancel ASEAN Appearance
After a resolute group of Red Shirts forced entry into Parliament, Thailand has mobilised about 33,000 extra law enforcers in and around Bangkok, beefing up security in the face of mass anti-government protests. The protesters have also started a march to ten different locations, starting with the Thaicom Pcl satellite earth station just north of [...] -
ASEAN MPs Petition for Sanctions Against Myanmar
In a petition released in the lead-up to the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Vietnam to Myanmar’s leaders, several ASEAN policymakers have condemned election laws unveiled by the junta which have been criticised as undermining the credibility of the vote, the first to be held in the country for two decades. The petition, endorsed by 105 [...] -
Najib Defends NEM, Believes Citizens Support Change
Addressing more than 100 journalists during a dialogue session in Singapore on Tuesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the country’s recently unveiled New Economic Model. The plan, aimed at steering Malaysia towards becoming a high-income economy, has received criticism in some sectors for eroding its deeply entrenched affirmative action policy towards the bumiputra. Groups [...] -
US Delays Currency Report on China, Brightens Relations
The US Treasury has decided to delay release (originally due out April 15) of a potentially incendiary currency report that may have labeled China a “currency manipulator”, signaling to China that the Obama administration prefers to resolve the dispute diplomatically. Many believe that China undervalues the yuan by 20%-40%, a move which boosts Chinese exporters [...] -
US funds UN Tribunal of Khmer Rouge: Trial and Error?
31st March 2009; the United States contributed $5 Million to the UN backed tribunal, set up to try Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia, against war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunal finished arguments of the first trial in November 2009 and has been faced with accusations of corruption and government interference. Stephen Rapp, the US ambassador-at-large [...] -
Protests in Thailand Exacerbate; Government Attempt Legal Measures
In a show of anti-government sentiments, Thai protestors continue to gambol exuberantly in Bangkok’s luxury commercial district, continuing to defy the government’s orders to disband. The Red Shirts, who feel that their interests are marginalised by the government, are demanding for immediate elections to pave the way for the return of fugitive Thaksin. Tourists in the [...] -
Malaysia Unveils Bold Economic Alterations
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled plans for bold economic reforms on Tuesday including an overhaul of racial preferences for majority Malays, in a roadmap to achieve developed-nation status by 2020. The “New Economic Model” was designed to boost growth, create a high-quality workforce, and attract badly needed foreign investment. The model also aims to halt Malaysia ’s [...] -
Thai Talks Result in Impasse
Accusing the government of being insincere, the Thai Red Shirts have decided not to return to negotiations citing ‘different goals’, but would instead resume massive street demonstrations. However, the prime minister, who is currently in Bahrain, believes the talks would continue. Offering a re-election within nine months, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva states his proposition is still valid [...] -
The Options for Myanmar
TODAY, 1 April 2010 by Simon Tay and William Hatch The decision not to allow iconic Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in elections in Myanmar was bad enough. But the latest news that her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), will also not participate leads many to worry that the vote later this [...] -
NLD to Boycott Myanmar’s Upcoming Elections
After much deliberation, Myanmar’s largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) has decided not to register for this year’s election, meaning the party of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will not be allowed the chance of any role in the military-led political process. This painful decision was made despite the compulsory [...] -
Thai PM and Red-Shirts Negotiations Result in Deadlock
Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva participated in landmark dialogues with anti-government protesters on Sunday, a gesture aimed at ending two weeks of street demonstrations in order to ‘restore peace and minimize the chance of violence’. The talks were held at a Bangkok education institute and broadcasted live on television, a first for Thailand. However, negotiations [...] -
Volvo sold to Geely by Ford for $1.8b
Ford Motors has inked a $1.8b agreement to sell its Swedish subsidiary Volvo to Geely. This sale, widely regarded as a sign that the world’s car industry’s centre of gravity is shifting to East Asia, marks China’s largest foray into the ownership of a luxury brand. This deal follows other similar acquisitions such as MG [...] -
Suu Kyi Opposes Role in Upcoming Elections as UN Contemplates Intervention
The detained leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement Aung San Suu Kyi has announced that she opposes registering her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), for the elections planned this year due to the junta’s restrictions, which she considers “unjust”. The laws, published earlier this month, state that parties cannot have any members with criminal [...] -
Thai protests continue; government extends security law, arms guards at key sites
The Thai government escalated its response to red-shirted protesters as their anti-government rally entered its second week, extending a tough security law and arming soldiers guarding key sites. Tens of thousands of protesters remained on the streets in the capital, clothed in their trademark red shirts, calling for Prime Minister Abhisit [...] -
The changing state of US-Asia ties
The Straits Times, THINK TANK, 24 Mar 2010 UNITED States President Barack Obama’s decision to postpone his visit to Indonesia and Australia last week was understandable. The health-care Bill, a centrepiece in his legislative agenda, was at a critical juncture and domestic priorities trump international visits. Moreover, the President had visited Asia less than six months [...] -
Google Ceases Operations in China Following Dispute
Following the demise of Google’s search engine in China, the world’s largest search engine attempted to circumvent censorship by rerouting Mainland users to its servers in Hong Kong. This unorthodox move sparked backlash from the State Council Information office, citing the move as “totally wrong” and “violating the written promise it made on entering the [...] -
Protesters March, Thai Govt Ready to Listen, Exchange Views
As many as 100,000 people demonstrated against Thailand’s government at a party-like rally Sunday, but the capital was being kept on edge by their threat to continue protesting until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls new elections. The protesters say that current Prime Minister Abhisit was not democratically elected and have demanded that he call new elections. [...] -
India, China sign on to Copenhagen accord
India and China have signed on to the Copenhagen climate change agreement reached in December 2009, which calls for setting voluntary limits on emissions of greenhouse gases. More than 100 countries have now agreed to the Copenhagen accord, including all major economies except for Russia. The accord states the countries’ “aim” to keep [...] -
China-ASEAN rail link development on track
Plans are advancing for a rail network that would eventually link Singapore to Kunming, China through six Southeast Asian nations. There are still gaps in the various national lines that would link the countrys, and many parts of the current track are decrepit. Currently, critical gaps are being filled in Cambodia. The ADB as [...] -
Indonesia, Australia launch A$30 mln forest CO2 project
Indonesia and Australia launched a A$30 million project on Tuesday to fight deforestation in Sumatra as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost a planned forest-carbon trading scheme. The project, to target Sumatra’s Jambi province that has suffered rapid deforestation, is the second joint venture between the neighbouring countries keen to learn how [...] -
Asian Sovereign funds ready to back Prudential’s AIA deal: Report
Sovereign wealth funds from China and Singapore have been lined up to help fund Prudential’s $35.5bn purchase of AIA, the Asian arm of AIG, in a move that could give state-backed investors a substantial stake in the region’s biggest insurer, a report says. The Financial Times quoted unidentified sources as saying that Prudential and its advisers [...]
