News that Thailand has “cancelled” its Kra canal project and replaced it with a land bridge has exercised Indian observers. But you cannot scrap a plan that has not been approved and Indian media reports say more about tensions with China along their land border than a centuries’ old Thai canal plan.
Digital payment systems have proliferated across Southeast Asia, thanks to various platforms provided by banks, ride-hailing apps and fintech firms. For such payments to truly take off, the region needs to work on facilitating cross-border transactions.
Securing market access for agri-food trade in ASEAN has become a challenge. Non-tariff measures (NTMs) have emerged as one of the key obstacles to trade. Given trade costs associated with such measures, ASEAN should focus on harmonising rules and standards surrounding aimed at protecting humans and animals, in order to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade.
In a pandemic-afflicted year when the country braced itself for smaller remittances from its overseas workers, the Philippines has seen a lower-than-expected fall in such inflows. The OFWs, as they are called, have lived up to their reputations.
A lawsuit filed against TikTok by a Vietnamese firm portends a tightening of controls on social media by the authorities.
For years, the Islamic Renaissance Front has sought to bring progressive Islam to the front and centre in Malaysia. With a leadership change and increasing state repression, the group has its work cut out for it.
The relative success of Vietnam’s Covid-19 contact tracing app has sparked concerns about the privacy of users. Currently, however, app users are wont to give the government the benefit of the doubt.
China appears to have embarked on a new round of charm offensive. Yang Jiechi, who is a Politburo Member and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, is visiting Singapore and South Korea this week. While Singapore looks forward to consolidating its ties with China, it seeks to do the same with other key players in the region.
The Phuea Thai Party is leading a bid to draft a new Constitution, in the wake of student protests calling on the government to stop harassment of critics and dissolve the Senate. Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha can seize the initiative and call for a referendum. Given mounting calls for a “revolution,” not merely reforms, General Prayut does not have the luxury of time.
That calls for replacement of Thailand’s military-imposed constitution have touched on the political role of the monarchy is no surprise. Growing signs of support for constitutional change in provincial Thailand may be a more telling development.
India’s Obsession With Thailand’s Kra Canal: Much Ado About Nothing
News that Thailand has “cancelled” its Kra canal project and replaced it with a land bridge has exercised Indian observers. But you cannot scrap a plan that has not been approved and Indian media reports say more about tensions with China along their land border than a centuries’ old Thai canal plan.