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Southeast Asia links: Myanmar poll, sinking boats, blasphemy, torture and more

Southeast Asia links: Myanmar poll, sinking boats, blasphemy, torture and more
Published 16 Dec 2014   Follow @elliotbrennan

  • 'We sank Vietnamese boats last week...maybe we will sink Chinese boats after that also', said Rizal Sukma, director of CSIS Indonesia and a foreign policy adviser to the Indonesian president. Prashanth Parameswaran explored the comments. 
  • Low levels of trust, poor knowledge of government institutions, serious political polarisation and a deep apprehension about economic opportunities were among some of the key findings of a nationwide public opinion survey in Myanmar released by the Asia Foundation this week. Disparities between genders as well as ethnic areas and Burman majority areas remained prevalent.  
  • The editor of the Jakarta Post is facing blasphemy charges after publishing a cartoon mocking Islamic State, despite the ban on IS in the country.
  • In Yangon, Myanmar's most bustling city, a push to move street vendors is being discussed. Jane Perlez wrote on the difficulties of saving Myanmar's colonial past.
  • Thailand's crown prince divorces his third wife.The move comes as royal succession looms, with the King in ailing health. 
  • Vietnam rejected China's position paper on the South China Sea this week; Carl Thayer looked at Hanoi's interest in the arbitration case.
  • The Thai military Government has denied any knowledge of the so-called 'Site Green' facility in Thailand where CIA torture techniques are reported to have been employed. Thailand was mentioned several times in the heavily redacted US Senate report on torture.
  • USAID health experts explored how Asia can reduce poverty by improving essential health services:

Rapidly growing Asian countries Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam have shown that improving health indicators and reducing extreme poverty are clearly linked. Declines in infant and child mortality rates in these countries preceded periods of strong and sustained economic growth.



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