By YANG HAN in Hong Kong | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-03-04 09:23 Share CLOSE Foreign ministers and representatives of ASEAN are seen on a screen during an informal meeting on Tuesday. [MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/REUTERS]
ASEAN balance between engagement and noninterference garners praise
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations balanced approach to the situation in Myanmar meets the principle of noninterference and is aimed at a peaceful resolution of the country s issues, experts say.
Yang Razali Kassim, senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said a statement from the 10-nation bloc is the latest manifestation of its policy of constructive engagement, which means a balance between noninterference and engagement.
Myanmar Junta Seen Cozying Up to China if West Gets Tough
03 February 2021
FILE - Myanmar s Army Commander and now the country s new leader, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pose for a photo during their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Jan. 12, 2021. (Myanmar Military Information Team via AP)
Share
share
TAIPEI, TAIWAN
TAIPEI, TAIWAN The military government that seized power in Myanmar will get along well with its authoritarian neighbor China in the long term, despite historical misgivings, and grow closer if international sanctions isolate the Southeast Asian state from Western powers, observers say.
Myanmar’s military took control of the country Monday and declared a year-long state of emergency. Civilian de facto head of state Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, was detained in the power shift, prompting condemnation from Western governments.
China’s Diversion of Upstream Mekong Flows Seen Drying Up Southeast Asia
29 January 2021
Share
share
TAIPEI, TAIWAN
Analysts say Chinese officials are diverting so much water from dams along the upper Mekong River system that Southeast Asian countries are going dry during prime agricultural seasons and turning to other powers for help.
Eleven southwest China dams have left much of the Lower Mekong region, with its population of 60 million, dry since 2019, according to data from the Stimson Center in Washington. The affected countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam seldom complain because they are smaller than China and because of the relationships between some of their leaders and Beijing, analysts say.
English By Ralph Jennings Share on Facebook Print this page TAIPEI - Analysts say Chinese officials are diverting so much water from dams along the upper Mekong River system that Southeast Asian countries are going dry during prime agricultural seasons and turning to other powers for help.
Eleven southwest China dams have left much of the Lower Mekong region, with its population of 60 million, dry since 2019, according to data from the Stimson Center in Washington. The affected countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam seldom complain because they are smaller than China and because of the relationships between some of their leaders and Beijing, analysts say.
9:48 PM MYT BANGKOK, Jan 8, 2021 (AFP): Tensions are rising around Thailand s pro-democracy protests, with six people shot last week and police using tear gas and water cannon on the streets of Bangkok.
As the Thai capital braces for the next major rally on Wednesday, AFP takes a look at the forces in play and what might come next in a country with a long history of political unrest.
- Protesters getting tough -
After four months of rallies, sometimes involving tens of thousands of demonstrators, the mood is getting tougher, with protest leaders warning they are not prepared to compromise.
More than 50 people were injured during a protest near parliament last week, six of them with gunshot wounds, according to medical officials, though it is not clear who was responsible for the shooting. Police are investigating but have not made any arrests.