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Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, center, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pose for a group photo session during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Thursday. Pic: AP.

ASEAN makes progress on trade, not on sea disputes

By AP News Thu, Apr 25, 2013 3:04PM UTC 0 Comment

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders were upbeat Thursday about progress made on an ambitious plan to weld the region into a European Union-style economic community as a counterweight to Asian powerhouse China, while efforts were stalling on South China Sea disputes. Leaders attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in...

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Sea disputes, NKorea in spotlight at ASEAN summit

By AP News Mon, Apr 22, 2013 1:35PM UTC 0 Comment

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — Worried that long-seething rifts could escalate over the South China Sea, Southeast Asian leaders are expected this week to press China to agree to start negotiations on a new pact aimed at thwarting a major clash in one of the world’s busiest waterways. Concern over North Korea’s latest threats...

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Little, landlocked Laos: Pawn or pivot in Asia’s future?

By Michele Penna Tue, Feb 19, 2013 7:20PM UTC 0 Comment

China's then-Premier Wen Jiabao, center, inspect an honor guard with Laos' Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong in Vientiane late last year. Pic: AP.

Is Laos on the brink of a lucrative future on the back of its relationship with China, or is it about to sell its soul? NANJING – “I work for a Chinese company in Laos. The Chinese are building everywhere, they have the money now. They can invest,” an Australian miner told me during a...

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Analysis: Strengthening Cambodia-China ties alarm ASEAN neighbors

By Michele Penna Tue, Jan 29, 2013 9:52AM UTC 0 Comment

A Cambodian army soldier looks at Chinese military vehicles displayed before a hand over ceremony at a military air base in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2010. Pic: AP.

On January 23, Moeung Samphan, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Defense Ministry, and General Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, signed a military cooperation agreement under which 12 Chinese-built Zhi-9 helicopters will be delivered to the Royal Cambodian Army. As part of the deal, the People’s Liberation Army will...

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Southeast Asia adopts human rights declaration

By AP News Sun, Nov 18, 2012 5:56PM UTC 1 Comment

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers his opening remarks for the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. Pic: AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders on Sunday adopted a human rights declaration despite last-minute calls for a postponement by critics, including Washington, who said the pact contains loopholes that could allow atrocities to continue. The 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an unwieldy bloc of liberal democracies and authoritarian...

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