Published daily by the Lowy Institute

Southeast Asia links: Bishop in Burma, sports diplomacy, Laotian Rocket Festival and more

Published 9 Jul 2014 Follow @elliotbrennan

During her visit to Myanmar and Laos last week, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced greater funding for education in the two countries and a $24.6 million package to facilitate Myanmar’s peaceful democratic transition.
Buddhist mobs attacked Mandalay’s Muslim community in Myanmar’s second-largest city following the rape of a Buddhist woman allegedly by two Muslim men. The riots left two dead and a dozen people injured.
Sports diplomacy took centre stage in the South China Sea as the Vietnamese and Philippines navies came together for a sports day on the Spratly Islands.
Vietnam will shortly file a lawsuit against China's state-owned oil company CNOOC, according to Prime Minister Dung.
The troubles of tackling tobacco in Vietnam.
Bangkok Pundit explains the reasons behind the mass exodus of over 200,000 Cambodian workers from Thailand and the damage to Thailand's already struggling economy.
Who's winning the battle between China and Japan over Myanmar? ISEAS's Zhao Hong takes a look.
And finally this week, the Annual Laotian Rocket Festival:

Georgi Engelbrecht 6 May 2020 06:00

A year after its creation, the autonomous region faces the threat of a pandemic, on top of lingering fractures.

Anna Powles, Joanne Wallis 14 Oct 2020 11:00

Views on China appear to be hardening in Wellington, and the next government will be pressed to find a policy balance.

Frank Yuan 20 Aug 2020 12:00

The country’s options in defence, aid and diplomacy are not as financially constrained as might be feared.