The ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s annual State of Southeast Asian survey dropped last week, heady times for an overstretched columnist. Not so positive, however, if you’re busy battling a barbarous military junta and are looking around for a bit of moral support from your fellow Southeast Asians. Let’s turn to page 16 of the survey report. … Read more
The head of Myanmar’s military junta met yesterday with the newly appointed special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), state media reported, as the military continued to suffer losses in the country’s west and northeast. According to a report today in the Global New Light of Myanmar, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, … Read more
Advertisement Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has done what every world leader has so far failed to do: He has called for radical action to end “an unspeakable tragedy” unfolding in Myanmar. In doing so, Turk has lived up to the very highest qualities of his office, acting as the … Read more
Advertisement Usually, the most exciting moments of the annual summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are when something doesn’t happen. It has lived long in the memory of political commentators that the regional bloc failed to deliver a joint, post-summit statement in 2012 when Cambodia, as ASEAN chair that year, seemingly put … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia President Marcos Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim say that Southeast Asian governments should be allowed to engage the junta informally. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim holds talks in Putrajaya, Malaysia, July 26, 2023. Credit: Twitter/Anwar Ibrahim Advertisement Southeast Asian governments should be … Read more
Advertisement Human rights groups and civil society organizations have criticized a plan by Thailand’s caretaker government to convene another “informal” meeting on the crisis in Myanmar, arguing that it will undermine efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to broker a solution to the country’s conflict. On Saturday, Reuters published a report revealing … Read more
Advertisement The norm of sovereignty in the international system prohibits states from intervening in the internal affairs of other states. This norm has been instrumental in maintaining peace and stability, but it has also been used by authoritarian groups to oppress their own populations without being held accountable. The ongoing Rohingya crisis is a prime … Read more
Advertisement Recent events in Myanmar over the past month, from an attack on an ASEAN convoy to a deadly cyclone, have once again highlighted the Southeast Asian bloc’s growing challenge in grappling with the realities of the post-coup situation, which has already killed thousands, displaced millions, and inflicted untold suffering on the people of the … Read more
Advertisement On the morning of April 11, the first day of Myanmar’s New Year celebrations, the Myanmar air force dropped over 1,500 kilograms of ordnance designed to devastate and incinerate the small peaceful village of Pazigyi in Kanbalu township, Sagaing Region. The attacks targeted a New Year celebration packed with women and young children. Footage … Read more