ASEAN News

For the third day in a row, the Philippines logged over 9,000 new COVID-19 cases on the eve of the weeklong lockdown in the “NCR Plus” bubble. On Sunday, March 28, the Department of Health (DOH) announced 9,475 new cases, taking the total number of cases in the country to 721,892. Ngayong 4 PM, Marso 27, 2021, ang Department of …

JAKARTA: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday (Mar 26) that before travel arrangements can resume, Singapore and Indonesia should preferably have the “same degree of control” over COVID-19 transmissions. Dr. Balakrishnan said in an interview to wrap up his visit to Jakarta that resuming travel should be done gradually, safely, and cautiously. “I would like to reiterate …

On March 23, an international conference in Vietnam’s Binh Duong province learned that ASEAN needs to implement green manufacturing technologies to create sustainable new goods and services. Dr. Michael Braun, the coordinator of the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument project, said at the “Cooperating with Europe for Green Manufacturing Technologies” conference that promoting technical collaboration between the European and Southeast …

KUALA LUMPUR: According to Reuters, Malaysia decided on Wednesday (Mar 24) to postpone scheduled deportations to Myanmar until after a proposed emergency regional summit to discuss the crisis in Myanmar caused by a military coup. When Malaysia sent back 1,086 Myanmar nationals on Myanmar navy ships last month, just weeks after the military seized power in a Feb 1 coup, …

MANILA – The Philippines’ foreign ministry said Tuesday that China’s “continuing infringements” in Philippine territory, despite “resolute protests,” are “contrary” to its “commitments under international law” and an agreement it forged with Southeast Asian countries. “The Philippines calls on China to faithfully honor its obligations as a State Party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the …

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of Malaysia have called for an emergency meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss the turmoil in Myanmar. The Indonesian president, also known as Jokowi, made the call on Friday, and was backed up by his Malaysian counterpart, who used some of the strongest language in …

According to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 vaccine tracker, the Philippines and many Asean countries will need more than a decade to vaccinate the majority of their populations. The data, which was based on vaccine information from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, revealed that the Philippines has the third highest vaccination rate in the Asean region, at 25,527 doses per day. …

KUALA LUMPUR – Technical issues at the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore, combined with an increase in passport renewal applications during the Covid-19 pandemic, contributed to long lines outside the mission recently, according to the Malaysian Immigration Department. In a statement, Malaysian Immigration Chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said that a passport printing machine at the high commission is currently out …

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) held its first Partnership Conference with the theme “Towards Post-COVID Recovery and Resilience in ASEAN,” recognizing the need for stronger cross-pillar and cross-sectoral cooperation among ASEAN, its stakeholders, and partners in realizing the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery System. Kung Phoak, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASCC, welcomed the delegates and stressed that the region’s recovery …

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states are struggling to effectively resolve the crisis in Myanmar that has been unfolding since the February 1 coup, according to a group of lawmakers from six regional countries. “While the brave pro-democracy protesters of Myanmar are being killed by the military junta, all other ASEAN governments are demonstrating a lack of …