In Myanmar’s election, ethnic minority parties offer a key alternative for voters disillusioned with Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. Though their success is key to making the country’s democracy more representative, they face major barriers in this year’s vote.
If the Philippine military wants to win its fight against Islamic extremism, it needs to work with the community rather than following a policy of going it alone.
One of Myanmar’s most notorious extremist Buddhist monks, U Wirathu, has turned himself in to authorities after over a year in hiding from charges of sedition against Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. The move is likely a political tactic as the country is days away from a general election.
The region faces the threat of increasing natural disasters as global warming makes extreme weather more likely.
With just over a week until Myanmar’s general election on November 8, the country is struggling with a myriad of controversies surrounding the vote while COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Indonesia has given control of its new national agricultural plan over to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who stands accused of ordering civilian repression, torture and other crimes. The military’s control of the food estates program has increased opposition to the plan as critics voice concerns about the militarization of agriculture.
Indonesia’s government is working to ensure that the country’s options for COVID-19 vaccines will comply with Islamic law. However, such efforts may end up eroding the public’s trust in the vaccine and undermine the country’s fight against the pandemic.
Foreign investment projects worth billions of dollars are poised to transform Laos’ Vang Vieng in spite of local opposition and the government’s precarious public debt. The area, known for its natural beauty, falls along the route of a new Chinese railway and is one of many projects in Laos under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Efforts to curb illegal fishing in Vietnam have drawn international attention from foreign officials, as the government in Hanoi adopts new measures in line with the recommendations of the European Commission.
In the past, the “Quad” of Australia, India, Japan and the United States has been unable to offer ASEAN anything concrete to back up its alleged aim of building a rules-based international order. As the forum rapidly becomes an anti-China block, it may push ASEAN further away.