2020/2, 14 January 2020
On 9 January 2020, a clash between protestors and the police over a longstanding land dispute in Dong Tam village in suburban Hanoi left three police officers and one villager killed, and another civilian injured. The incident, which is the most lethal one in years, highlighted land disputes as a major source of social conflicts in Vietnam.
2020/1, 7 January 2020
On 4 January 2020, during the 42nd meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee, Electricity Vietnam (EVN), Vietnam’s state power utility, signed five contracts to purchase from Laos’ Phongsubthavy Group and Chealun Sekong Group 1.5 billion kWh of electricity a year for two years starting in 2021. The deal, while illustrating the Lao government’s vision of turning the country into “the battery of Southeast Asia”, underlines Vietnam’s energy security challenges as well as its dilemma in dealing with Laos’ plans to build more hydropower dams along the Mekong River.
2019/109, 26 December 2019
At the end of its third year, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Bank already has many more members than the 53-year old Japan-led Asian Development Bank. This is clearly a measure of AIIB success and a useful reminder that Asia is a flexible contingent idea.
2019/108, 20 December 2019
The chief of the Myanmar insurgent group the Arakan Army (AA), Major General Tun Myat Naing, said on 17 December 2019 that the organisation of voting in Rakhine State during the general elections due in late 2020 would require the group’s ‘permission’. This ‘bold’ statement from the leader of an armed ethnonationalist group that has — with mounting intensity since January 2019 — been waging a war for ‘self-determination’ against the Myanmar military has considerable implications for the ongoing political transition in the country and for its approaching elections.
2019/107, 12 December 2019
Philippine hotels, casinos, airport vendors and banana and pineapple farmers are some of the direct beneficiaries of President Rodrigo Duterte’s personal embrace of China and persistent pursuit of better diplomatic relations with the Philippines’ third largest export market. As with President Macapagal-Arroyo some fifteen years ago, Duterte has repeatedly justified his embrace of China and downplaying China’s infringement of Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea as the necessary means to boost Chinese investment in the Philippines and Philippine exports to China.
2019/106, 11 December 2019
The decision of Thailand’s ruling regime, under the leadership of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, to bring ‘money politics’ back into parliament in order to ensure the regime’s survival will leave the country trapped in a maze.
2019/105, 10 December 2019
The government of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha narrowly averted yet another crisis in the House of Representatives on 4 December — this time with support from 10 defectors from the opposition. The incident, however, accentuated the vulnerability of Thailand’s ruling coalition of 18 parties, but just 254 seats in the 500-member House.
2019/104, 10 December 2019
Vietnam released the fourth edition of its national defence white paper on 25 November 2019. Compared to the third edition released in 2009, the new white paper provides detailed and more updated information about Vietnam’s perception of the global and regional security environment, Vietnam’s defence policy, and its defence forces. In terms of defence policy, however, the paper does not reveal any major changes, except for a minor twist to the longstanding and well-known “three no’s policy”, that is no military alliance, no foreign military base on Vietnamese soil, and no siding with one country against another.
2019/103, 2 December 2019
The ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) Commemorative Summit was convened on 25-26 November in Busan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their dialogue relations. The high-profile event showcased President Moon Jae-in’s strong commitment to bring ASEAN-ROK partnership to a new height under his New Southern Policy (NSP). One key take-away from the Summit is Seoul’s more forthcoming support of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Adopted by the ASEAN leaders in June 2019, the AOIP is ASEAN’s response towards the emerging Indo-Pacific discourse. It provides the lens through which ASEAN perceives the Indo-Pacific, anchored in its overriding objective of maintaining regional autonomy and ASEAN centrality.
“The ‘Fighting Peacock’ in Myanmar Enters 2020 in a Fighting Mode” by Nyi Nyi Kyaw