Author: Ruwaid Waddaah

Southeast Asia navigates complex relationships between the US and China The growing antagonism between China and the US is causing considerable unease to the rest of the world. The underlying reason of this heightened tension is the American anxiety over China’s economic ascendancy, which threatens American primacy in the world. History tells us that no primary power gives way easily to another power. The China-US coupling of economies during the last four decades has ushered an era of unprecedented economic accomplishments the world over. And China has been the driver of this prosperity accounting for “40 per cent of all…

In order to promote ASEAN unity in the world of investment, as well as showcasing the vast expanse of investment opportunities in the region, Invest Selangor and the Selangor State Government are inviting stakeholders and key industry players to the seventh Selangor ASEAN Business Conference (SABC) 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. Carrying the theme “Selangor, Epicenter of ASEAN: Leveraging Diversity, Catalyzing Opportunity, Creating Prosperity”, the event will be held on Oct. 19 and 20 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. The strategic location between the Malaysian capital and the country’s economic powerhouse of Selangor will also display the pivotal role the…

Beijing-linked hackers accessed US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns’ email account in an espionage operation thought to have compromised at least hundreds of thousands of individual US government emails, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Thursday (July 20). Daniel Kritenbrink (pic), the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, was also hacked in the wider spying operation disclosed earlier this month by Microsoft, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Asked about the reported breach of the two diplomats’ accounts, the State Department declined to give any details and said its investigation of the spying operation was…

The crisis in Myanmar is expected to be one of the main topics at meetings hosted by Indonesia next week. ASEAN chair Indonesia said Friday it was increasing efforts to implement a five-point consensus to end instability in post-coup Myanmar, while Burmese civil society groups called for junking the “ineffective” plan amid divisions within the regional bloc. The crisis in Myanmar is expected to be one of the main topics at a series of ministerial-level meetings that Indonesia will host next week as the 2023 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The talks will involve ASEAN members and…

Brussels (12/7 – 30.77) International investigators interviewing survivors of a mountain massacre that occurred in May 2022 in Tajikistan have collected evidence that government security services carried out a planned massacre of peaceful protestors as part of a larger ethnic cleansing campaign targeting the peaceful Pamiri indigenous people of the mountainous eastern region of the country. Numerous witnesses described how heavily armed troops from both the Ministry of Internal Affairs (VKD) and the intelligence service (GKNB) gunned down Pamiri demonstrators in the town of Vamar/Rushon on 18 May 2022. The non-violent protests had erupted in various cities of the Gorno-Badakhshan…

An electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem must be built within the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) because some countries in the region have the resources for EV components, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said. “The (EV) ecosystem must be built in ASEAN. We have two producers of EV in ASEAN: Thailand and Indonesia,” he pointed out at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday while discussing the ASEAN Summit. Thailand and Indonesia have already built their EV industry, Hartarto noted. However, Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that has the resources for making electric batteries. “However,…

The unity government has agreed in principle to provide an allocation for opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), but only for their administrative expenses, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the matter was being finalised, with discussions being conducted by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof with the relevant quarters, and an announcement on it would be made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. “At this stage, we agreed to provide the allocation to cover administrative expenses,” he told reporters during his walkabout programme at Desa KEDA Sadek here today. Ahmad Zahid, who is…

On April 26, the Ceremony for the First Issuance of the Rap Song Enjoy the Sea by High-Speed Train (in Laotian) and the Hand Picture Book Go to Laos by Train (in Chinese and Laotian) was held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The year of 2023 marks the 10th Anniversary of the “Belt and Road” Initiative. China-Laos Railway has been opened for more than a year as a landmark project of the “Belt and Road”, promoting the economic and social development of China and Laos, and witnessing the enduring friendship between both parties. It is not only…

A groundbreaking ceremony for the 600 MW Monsoon Wind Power Project, the first of this kind in Laos, contracted by Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), was held in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Tuesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Laos, Saleumxay Kommasith, Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy and ministers of other government departments, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Laos Zhao Wenyu, as well as representatives of the developer and contractor, attended the ceremony. In his speech, Lao Minister of Energy and Mines Phoxay Sayasone said the Monsoon Wind Power…

Chief of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Moeldoko has affirmed that the government will continue to advance development in the Papua region while protecting locals from threats posed by separatist groups. “Residents must understand that, in general, Papua sees no decline in the development progress,” he stated, according to a statement issued here on Thursday. He noted that Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2020 on the advancement of welfare development in Papua has been implemented to bolster efforts to realize prosperity for Papuans. “Hence, in general, welfare in Papua is in good condition,” the KSP chief said. The authorities will focus their…