Japan is digging in deeper in support of Myanmar and Cambodia even as the U.S. and Europe ramp up criticism of human rights violations, choosing to preserve its influence in the region by playing an alternative to China’s economic might.
Category: Region
Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Vietnam exerts efforts to ease climate change impacts: official
As one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, Vietnam has been actively performing international commitments and exerting efforts to ease its impacts, on official has said.
Who Controls the Tap? Addressing Water Security in Asia
China has also dammed and now controls the flow of the Mekong River; complaints about the Mekong have been muffled, partially because China has little to fear from these smaller countries.
Food Security be Dammed: Cambodia Trades Fish for Energy
The Lower Seasan 2 dam threatens to drastically reduce Cambodian fish stocks, which will undermine food security, particularly among the rural poor.
Travelers Spend More Money in Thailand Than Anywhere Else in Asia
A visualization of recent UN World Tourism Organization data, Thailand outranks every other nation in Asia when it comes to tourism spend.
The Debt Trap: ‘There’s no hope, “My income all goes to the bank”
An estimated 3 million Cambodians owe money to banks and MFIs, with estimates suggesting eight out of ten Cambodians are in debt.
Importers lay scrap import policy to waste
Port shows 1.3 million tons of scrap were imported in the first nine months this year, an eye-popping 402 percent increase in volume, year-on-year.
Defending China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Don’t fear Western “debt-trap diplomacy” accusations, as Chinese funding comes with no political strings attached.
Govt urged to ramp up action on greenhouse gas emissions
Thailand is ranked 22nd on the global list of greenhouse emitters, yet it is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Domestic development prioritised over exports
A bio-based economy or bioeconomy is seen as the solution, spanning five sectors: bioenergy, biochemicals, food, animal feed and biopharmaceuticals.