Southeast Asia
A bugle for bigotry: does hate speech in Australia resonate in Asia?
Racism and hate speech have certainly been much discussed in Australia and the area seems to have become a grey area for many politicians who see it as too prominent and…
ASEAN Regional Forum: less might be more
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) – with its unwieldy number of member states (27) and preoccupation with dialogue (a “talk shop”) – has been declared a failure time and again. Some…
Economic diplomacy: trade and traps in ASEAN
Middle aged spread
Southeast Asian countries are about to become the primary focus of Australia’s public diplomacy this year as the “Australia now” program stretches its…
The death penalty paradox in Buddhist Myanmar
On my recent visit to Myanmar, I attended the commemoration ceremony of U Ko Ni, the former lawyer and legal advisor to the National League for Democracy. He was among the most…
Will a sugar tax solve Southeast Asia’s growing diabetes problem?
Health has always been a major public issue for Southeast Asian countries, but only in recent years has it become a priority for policy-makers due to an emerging understanding of…
Israel embassy debacle: can Australia strongarm Indonesia again?
When Tony Abbott became prime minister, he immediately went about implementing his policy of “turning back the boats”. This was in the face of warnings that the practice…
Thailand should lead ASEAN with a migrant worker agenda
Thailand will assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019 after the ASEAN Summit in Singapore this month. This is in keeping with Thailand’s hopes to regain its place of regional…
From the high horse: Malaysia’s problematic track record
Speaking at the ASEAN summit in Singapore this month, Malaysia’s “new” Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gave counterpart Aung San Suu Kyi a taste of his notoriously acerbic…
Myanmar’s press freedom mirage
It has been a bad year for press freedom across Southeast Asia. Myanmar has been no exception.
Media freedom fell to new lows this month as a self-proclaimed anti-Rohingya…
Cambodia’s genocide verdict: better late than never
The verdict of the Khmer Rouge tribunal (The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, ECCC) on 16 November that found Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan guilty of genocide was…