Tag: ASEAN IN FOCUS
Japanese royal couple in Vietnam to mark 50 years of ties
HANOI, Sept 21, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko were welcomed Thursday in Hanoi by lines of flag-waving schoolchildren, as they began a visit marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. The royal couple laid wreaths at the mausoleum of late president Ho Chi Minh, before heading to the former home — a traditional stilt house — of the revolutionary leader and feeding fish in a […]
Indonesia hosts first-ever ASEAN military drills
BATAM, Indonesia, Sept 19, 2023 (AFP) – Militaries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began their first-ever joint exercises on Tuesday in Indonesia, with a Myanmar representative present despite the bloc’s ban on its junta leaders. ASEAN countries have participated in multinational defence drills before, but these are the first featuring just the bloc, which is battling perceptions of irrelevance on major regional issues such as the turmoil in Myanmar and disputes in the […]
Embracing extraordinary times! ASEAN IN FOCUS – Sept. 13, 2023
S. Korea, Southeast Asia must ‘join forces’ to counter N. Korea: Yoon
JAKARTA, Sept 5, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea and Southeast Asian nations must “join forces” to respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats, president Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday, as Washington warned Pyongyang’s leader was set to make a rare trip to Russia for arms talks. Yoon will meet with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Wednesday after their leaders’ summit, before attending the 18-nation East Asia Summit […]
ASEAN leaders urge Myanmar junta to stop attacks on civilians
JAKARTA, Sept 5, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders strongly condemned violence and attacks on civilians in Myanmar, directly blaming the ruling junta, with host Indonesia saying at a summit on Tuesday there had been scant progress on an agreed peace plan. Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since the 2021 military coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and prompted a bloody crackdown on dissent. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — […]
Myanmar crisis, South China Sea to headline ASEAN summit
JAKARTA, Sept 4, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders will gather Tuesday in Indonesia for talks set to be dominated by the crisis in Myanmar and China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit will be followed by talks with Beijing, Washington and other powers where US Vice President Kamala Harris will seek to push back on China’s assertiveness in the contested waterway in place of President […]
Embracing extraordinary times! ASEAN in Focus – Full broadcast on Sept. 1, 2023
UN warns thousands trafficked into online crime in SE Asia
GENEVA, Aug 29, 2023 (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of people are being coerced in Southeast Asia by criminal gangs into carrying out online scams, often under the threat of torture, the United Nations said Tuesday. Many have been trafficked into working in online criminality and face serious violations such as torture or sexual violence, the UN said in a report. “People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while […]
Malaysia rejects new Chinese map over South China Sea claims
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – Kuala Lumpur rejected Wednesday a new Chinese map that claims waters off Malaysia’s coast in the South China Sea, in the latest war of words between the Asian allies over Beijing’s assertiveness in the waterway. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea — through which trillions of dollars in trade pass annually — despite an international court ruling that Beijing’s entitlement has no legal basis. […]
Villagers say 14 killed as Myanmar violence flares
BANGKOK, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Fighting between the Myanmar army and anti-junta rebels has flared in recent days, with locals in one village saying Saturday that more than a dozen people were killed in a single raid. Deadly violence has engulfed Myanmar since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February 2021 and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent that has left thousands dead. The junta has been battling anti-coup “People’s […]
Divided ASEAN condemns Myanmar violence again, supports five-point plan
By Agnes ANYA Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — ASEAN foreign ministers on Thursday condemned violence in Myanmar again and repeated support for a peace plan ignored by its junta rulers, as the divided bloc struggled to find unity over the protracted crisis. Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent. A joint communique finally arrived late […]
