COUNTRIES IN Asean, including Thailand, should not seek to choose between the majors powers or to be neutral, but should be close to both the United States and China, a Singaporean academic said yesterday. "I don't think it's in Thailand's interests to be too close to...
An international panel set up by the Singapore government in March to study transboundary pollution issues, including the haze, has submitted its report. The panel was co-chaired by Professor S Jayakumar, former Singapore deputy prime minister, and Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large. It also consulted law...
Not long ago, Asians suffered under weak governments. Japan stumbled through a series of short-lived and unpopular leaders while, in China, the last years under President Hu Jintao saw necessary reforms postponed. In India, after initial high hopes, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ended his term...
The European Union (EU) looks set for a challenging but nevertheless promising season ahead, said Mr Jørgen Ørstrøm Møller, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). The former Danish ambassador to Singapore recently delivered a public lecture on the EU’s future...
Malaysia’s richest state Selangor is gripped with one of the most protracted leadership crises in recent memories, and the bitter feud is sure to erode public confidence in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, which has taken the helm of Selangor since 2008 thanks to...
It may not be full speed ahead for the “Chinese high-speed railway diplomacy” aimed at improving China’s links with Southeast Asia. Dubbed as Beijing’s thinly-veiled plans to assert its power and influence over the region, Chinese involvement also promises to help ASEAN achieve its connectivity...
Myanmar’s military government opened the country’s economy to much fanfare in 2011. But the last frontier market in ASEAN remains one of the most unfriendly to businesses, according to the latest joint study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Myanmar is ranked...
Singapore’s new haze law will give a strong impetus to the sharing of concession maps by agroforestry firms, as the onus is now on them to prove their innocence in the event that they are accused of causing transboundary haze. Furthermore, companies that refuse to volunteer...
Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group was the first foreign investor to enter China when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping opened the economy in 1979. Its registration number in China is 001. Today, the agribusiness giant employs some 80,000 people for its US$9 billion (S$11 billion)...
In his recent address to the Congress – televised to the nation, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III gave his administration a pat on the back for having concluded a historic peace accord with the militant Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in March. He also assured...