ASEAN – The leaders of Japan and Thailand announced a new defence agreement today as well as plans to upgrade their economic relations, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrapped up the last leg of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The agreement would facilitate the transfer of defence hardware and technology from Japan to Thailand, which has one of …

AstraZeneca is searching for its vaccine supplies for Southeast Asia in the face of the most serious Covid-19 outbreak. This statement from AstraZeneca, which manufactures its vaccine in Thailand came in light of supply shortage which has gotten the Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s administration heavily criticized. Under the terms of AstraZeneca’s agreement with Thai authorities, 180 million doses are due …

ASEAN is currently in the face of the worsening regional flash points, from the South China Sea to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN has been established since the 1967 to promote regional stability and economic growth. It has never been integrated into powerful community like the European Union and it does not aim to be one as well, however, ASEAN …

The recent elected President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in made the unprecedented move to enhance his country’s relationship with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017 by presenting the “New Southern Policy” (NSP) while having a state visit in Indonesia. Creating diplomatic and multilateral economic platforms amid unpredictable geopolitics caused by the mercurial Trump administration back …

AstraZeneca says it is working closely with South-east Asia governments to ensure its Covid-19 vaccine is supplied “as quickly as possible”, after reported delays in deliveries of orders from a Thai plant owned by the country’s powerful king. Malaysia and Taiwan this week became the latest in the region to warn they expected delays in deliveries of AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured …

In 2019, 44.3 million tourists traveled between ASEAN countries, according to GlobalData’s latest report, “Tourism Destination Industry Insight- ASEAN (2021).” From 2019 to 2024, intra-ASEAN travel is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%, reaching 56.6 million by 2024. Given the high rate of development, intra-regional travel may be critical to the region’s recovery from …

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 …

Southeast Asian countries rated the pandemic as their top concern in 2020, and China ranks first among its dialogue partners in terms of assisting the region. This is according to the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore’s 2021 State of Southeast Asia survey study. The majority of respondents (60.7 percent) from the ten members of the …

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are preparing for a special meeting with Myanmar’s ruling military on Tuesday in the hopes of quelling deadly violence and opening a channel to resolve the country’s worsening political crisis. The talks will take place two days after Myanmar’s bloodiest day of unrest since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government a month ago, …

SINGAPORE – Without fear of spreading the coronavirus, Singapore has been testing a ‘bubble’ business hotel that will allow quarantined executives arriving in the country to conduct face-to-face meetings and even exchange documents. The bubble was set up in an exhibition venue near Changi airport in the city-state and has separate air ducts for tourists and guests, plus hundreds of …