ASEAN News

President Rodrigo Duterte is confident that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would overcome Covid-19, just as it has overcome many obstacles in the past. Duterte made the statement as ASEAN marked the 54th anniversary of its foundation. He said that the ASEAN member nations are no strangers to adversity, adding that the regional bloc’s ties of amity and …

Among ASEAN’s ten countries, the Philippines’ labor force fared the worst in 2020, suffering the “highest working-hour losses” due in part to lockdowns enforced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), although all ASEAN nations experienced substantial reductions in working hours and the Philippines had seen the greatest declines in working hours, totaling 13.6 …

The Israeli Embassy in Singapore has condemned recent social media postings comparing the Singapore government’s Covid-19 response to the Holocaust, saying such analogies belittle the genocide’s atrocities. The embassy wrote on Facebook on August 12 that comments comparing the “clear health advantages of vaccines that have benefitted billions worldwide are not only in poor taste, but also distort the Holocaust …

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) blamed the delay in license plate manufacturing on budget limitations at the Land Transportation Office (LTO), after the agency was chastised by the Commission on Audit (COA) for failing to produce P2.159 billion in license plates. DOTr said in a statement that the mentioned backlog in plate manufacturing is attributable to the LTO’s lack of …

Until recently, Vietnam’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been an extraordinary success story. Once the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan was known in January 2020, significant outbreaks in other Asian countries were predicted. When Vietnam was one among the first nations to report human-to-human transmission, it was thought that a large-scale outbreak was unavoidable. Vietnam, on the …

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines said on Wednesday that the “only danger” in changing opponents for next week’s world welterweight boxing title fight is shifting from a southpaw opponent to a right-handed opponent. After American Errol Spence Jr. was pulled out of the fight on Tuesday after a left eye injury, the 42-year-old Filipino Senator puts on his gloves to …

Despite missing out on gold in the keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has praised track cyclist Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang as the true champion for the people of Malaysia. According to the prime minister, Malaysians are all pleased of Mohd Azizulhasni’s success, as he shown tremendous battling spirit in the final at the Izu …

Leaders of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s political party have supported him to run as a vice presidential candidate in next year’s elections, allowing him to continue in power for another six years after stepping down in 2022. The party’s general assembly, which meets next month, must approve the move. The president of the Philippines can only serve one six-year term. …

The 27th Ministerial Meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) has focused on the post-Covid-19 IMT GT strategy, which targets the five major problems. Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, stated that the IMT-GT Implementation Blueprint (IB) 2022-2026 will address the five major challenges. Related PostsASEAN MPs urges government for Parliament to reconveneDPM, AG and ministers …

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to push Asean to designate an envoy, the US claimed that Myanmar’s military leader was just buying time with a two-year election deadline. Blinken is virtually participating in a week of discussions with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which is the latest attempt by President Joe Biden’s administration …