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Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Monday in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for a special meeting to discuss an ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia that escalated into deadly combat two weeks ago. The meeting marked the second time this year that the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, served as a platform to promote de-escalation between its two member states. The new fighting derailed a ceasefire promoted by US President Donald Trump, which ended five days of combat in July. The agreement was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The ceasefire was formalized with more detail at an October regional summit in Malaysia attended by Trump. The fighting has drawn international concern. The US Department of State on Sunday released a statement calling for Thailand and Cambodia to end hostilities, withdraw heavy weapons, cease
The death toll in widespread flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains in Southeast Asia mounted on Monday with another person reported killed in Vietnam, and five others in Thailand with tens of thousands of people displaced. The total number of confirmed dead in Vietnam is now 91, with 11 others missing as the heavy rain that began a week ago has caused severe flooding and triggered landslides from Quang Tri to Lam Dong provinces, a stretch of 800 kilometers along the country's central region, including the highlands. In Dak Lak, the worst hit province, 63 people were killed, mostly due to drowning. Other fatalities were from Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Danang, Hue and Quang Tri provinces. With roads washed out in many areas, helicopters have been deployed to drop food and aid supplies and to assist in evacuating people. After a break in the rain on the weekend, Pham Thu Huyen was one of many hundreds of residents and visitors who helped clean up debris washed ashore in Nha
India is exploring opportunities to accelerate the regional energy transition while ensuring energy security across Southeast Asia, starting with Singapore, where several alternative energy projects are already in progress, a senior Indian official said here. Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority -- a statutory body under the Ministry of Power -- asserted that the need of interconnection has been highlighted to use the regional renewable resources in an optimal manner and a huge opportunity awaits if the South ASEAN and Southeast Asia grids are interconnected. One of the options is to have a direct interconnection between India and Singapore. This was in line with the One Sun One World One Grid' principles, which originated from India. Through Singapore, the whole of the South East Asian countries will benefit, Prasad told PTI on the sidelines of an international energy conference in Singapore. Prasad said India could export renewable power -- generated fro
China signed an expanded version of a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as both face increased protectionism from the United States, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasised his country's close ties with the region. Unity is strength, Li Qiang told an ASEAN-China summit meeting after the signing, stressing that closer cooperation could help overcome global economic uncertainties. The signing of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 came on the final day of the annual ASEAN summit and related meetings and was witnessed by Li Qiang and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is serving as ASEAN chair this year. It's the third revision of the long-standing agreement, which was first signed in 2002 and came into force in 2010. The free trade area covers a combined market of more than 2 billion people and lowers tariffs on goods and boosting flows of services and investment. Two-way trade has surged from USD 235.5 billion in 2010 to nearly USD 1 trill
Vietnam evacuated thousands of people from its central and northern provinces Sunday as Typhoon Bualoi raced toward the country faster than expected and made landfall in the early hours of Monday. The storm came ashore in northern coastal province Ha Tinh and forecasters said it would move inland before weakening as it pushed northwest toward the hilly regions of Ha Tinh and neighbouring Nghe An. Bualoi has left at least 20 people dead in the central Philippines since Friday, mostly from drownings and falling trees, and knocked out power in several towns and cities, officials said. It forced about 23,000 families to evacuate to more than 1,400 emergency shelters. In Vietnam, the typhoon was expected to bring winds of up to 133 kph (83 mph), storm surges of more than a meter (3.2 feet) and heavy rains that could trigger flash floods and landslides. State media reported that more than 347,000 families had lost power because of the storm. Strong gusts ripped off corrugated iron roofs
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country. Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organisers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years. The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution. A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: No more, too much, jail them, as they marched in the Manila protest and ...
Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides Wednesday in parts of Southeast Asia, where at least eight deaths were reported in the aftermath of a tropical storm. Flooding occurred in several northern and central provinces of Vietnam, seven people died, one was missing and 34 were injured, state media reported. Nearly 20 centimetres (8 inches) of rain fell overnight in parts of northeast Vietnam and flood warnings remained for some riverside areas. In Thailand, one person died and another was missing from a landslide Wednesday in part of the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said many homes were affected and a few people were injured from flash flooding and landslides in northern provinces. Thailand's Meteorological Department warned of heavy rain in northern and northeastern regions Wednesday. Residents in foothills and low-lying areas near waterways were warned about possible flash floods and landslides. The rain was part of t
Heavy rain fell Tuesday in parts of Southeast Asia after a tropical storm made landfall in Vietnam, flooding streets in the capital, blowing away billboards and knocking down power poles and trees. Vietnam's state media said the remnants of Typhoon Kajiki were now a tropical depression over Laos. Rain was also forecast in Thailand. Vietnam's government had planned to evacuate nearly 600,000 people in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Danang, where more than 152,000 homes were in high-risk areas. More than 16,500 soldiers and 107,000 paramilitary personnel were assisting with evacuations or were on standby for search and rescue, state media said. Two airports in Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh provinces were still closed Tuesday after flights were halted Monday. The national weather agency said Kajiki made landfall in central Vietnam with maximum sustained winds of 117 kph (73 mph). The torrential rain triggered flash flood and landslide alerts. The storm blew away billboards
Long-festering tensions over border territory have escalated into armed conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, leading to dozens of deaths on both sides and displacing tens of thousands of people. Neither side is prepared to claim responsibility for the first volley on Thursday, and they each blame the other for the continuing skirmishes. While regional and international allies and organizations have called for a ceasefire, scant attempts at mediation had resulted in no peace talks as of early Sunday. It's a grim situation, but there is some light amid the darkness. On both sides of the border, some people are working around the destruction, intent on creating a safe space or finding normalcy. A temple in Thailand's northeastern province of Surin has something most of the country's 27,000 active Buddhist monasteries do not: a concrete bunker to shelter from bombs and shelling. The temple, which asked not to be identified by name because of safety concerns, is about 10 kilometers f
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping his up his second and final day at a Southeast Asian security conference with a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart as tensions grow between Washington and Beijing over issues from trade to security and China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine. After discussions with regional countries at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Malaysia, Rubio on Friday was close out his first official trip to Asia in his first face-to-face talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the State Department said. The meeting comes less than 24 hours after Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur with another rival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during which they discussed potential new avenues to jumpstart Ukraine peace talks. The meetings come against a backdrop of global and regional unease over US policies, notably on trade and large tariffs that US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on friend and foe alike. While Ru