Southeast Asia Archive

Although the tense standoff between Chinese and Philippine warships at Scarborough Shoal in the northern South China Sea has been walked back from the brink, it is a harbinger of more confrontations to come. Indeed, more such incidents are inevitable if China and the four Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — that also claim the sea’s disputed islands and their adjacent waters and resources cannot agree on and implement a robust code of conduct to govern their activities there. Unfortunately, the April 2012 ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh came and […]

Aung San Suu Kyi, the general secretary of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar, spent nearly two decades under house arrest after her opposition party won the country’s 1990 parliamentary elections but was denied power by the ruling military junta. Now, after winning a seat in parliamentary by-elections held earlier this month, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s role in Myanmar’s domestic politics is poised to change. Reports that her scheduled debut in parliament Monday may be delayed due to a controversy over the wording of the parliamentary oath underscore the difficult choices facing Suu Kyi as she re-enters the […]

In yet another disagreement between China and its neighbors over the disputed South China Sea, the Philippines last week claimed that one of its naval patrols had discovered eight Chinese fishing vessels loaded with illegal catch in an area it considers to be within its own exclusive economic zone. When the Philippine patrol refused to allow the fishing boats to leave the area without discharging their catch, China speeded three maritime survey ships to the area. Since then, the two countries have engaged in a standoff that continues, even though the Philippine warship allowed the fishermen to leave the area […]

Speaking at the recent ASEAN summit, Myanmar’s president says the nation is looking forward to the end of some international sanctions following the April 1 by-elections. World News Videos by NewsLook

Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand’s restive south, killing 14 people and injuring 340 with car bombs that targeted shoppers and a high-rise hotel. World News Videos by NewsLook

Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has won a seat in Myanmar’s parliament in Sunday’s landmark byelection. World News Videos by NewsLook

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited Japan last month in an effort to boost international confidence following Thailand’s devastating floods. In an email interview, John J. Brandon, the director of the Asia Foundation’s international relations program, discussed Thai-Japanese relations. WPR: What is the current state of relations between Japan and Thailand? John J. Brandon: This year marks the 125th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Japan and Thailand. Bilateral ties, particularly in the economic sphere, have strengthened considerably over the past decade. With 49 percent of foreign direct investment to Thailand coming from Japan, exports up 8.3 percent and the […]