SINGAPORE - To solve the haze problem, countries need to cooperate and not blame each other for pollution; they should also view the problem in terms of economic inter-dependence, said legal experts at a conference on transboundary pollution on Thursday. Singapore Institute of International Affairs chairman...
Global Forest Watch, an online forest monitoring and alert system, was launched last week by Google, together with 40 other partners such as the World Resources Institute and United Nations Environment Programme. The software is a mapping tool to track deforestation on a real-time basis....
For the past few years, G20 meetings have focused on austerity measures, given the backdrop of the financial and economic crises. Over the weekend (22-23 February) in Sydney, Australia, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors agreed to add US$2 trillion (S$2.5 trillion) to the...
On February 25, ministerial-level talks aimed at concluding a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement ended without a deal. The talks failed on several issues, such as removing protection for automobiles and agriculture. Japan, in particular, was unwilling to remove protection on foreign agricultural products and...
Beginning last Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry met leaders in Seoul, Beijing and Jakarta. The US invoked its “pivot to Asia” again after being distracted by the Syrian conflict. It was an important visit, but one that left much to be desired. No...
The Singapore Government’s move this week to penalise companies that cause haze is timely, given that fires are currently burning in Riau and Kalimantan. But the proposed laws are more than a symbol or knee-jerk reaction. The draft Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill, if passed, will allow...
SINGAPORE — In a move aimed at sending “a strong signal of deterrence” to errant companies, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources plans to introduce a law that will allow legal action to be taken against companies, both local and foreign, that cause transboundary...
Indonesia’s relations with the outside world have been strained in recent months. Its ties with Singapore have frayed due to the Indonesian navy’s naming of a warship “Usman Harun”, after two Indonesian marines executed in 1968 for the 1965 bombing of MacDonald House in Singapore....
Anti-government protests in Bangkok have lasted for more than three months and, yet, continue to confuse. Much of the international media asserts the sanctity of the vote above all else. Most over-rely on distinctions that the Reds represent the poor and the Yellows are the elite...
The severe haze episode that Singapore experienced in June 2013 may not be the worst we have seen. This is one of the key takeaways by CHUA Chin-Wei, Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) Deputy Director and Fellow (Environment and Resources) after attending the ICOPE...