Chuyên mục: Southeast Asia

Security Challenges of Climate Change in Southeast Asia

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Photo: REZAS/AFP/Getty Images
by Murray Hiebert (Senior Associate, Southeast Asia Program) and Danielle Fallin (Program Coordinator and Research Assistant, Southeast Asia Program)

A 1.5-degree Celsius increase in global warming poses an immediate threat to Southeast Asia’s economic, political, and health security. Mitigating the effects of climate change is key to the United States’ goal to secure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Southeast Asia will be one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change unless countries make dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas pollution. According to a 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a global warming increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) will cause rising seas, dangerous flooding, and changing rain patterns leading to violent typhoons and drought. Global warming poses a threat to food security, hobbles economic growth, prompts political instability, and catalyzes pandemics. In extreme cases, it can create an environment conducive to terrorist activities.

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Powers, Norms, and Institutions: The Future of the Indo-Pacific from a Southeast Asia Perspective

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Results of a CSIS Survey of Strategic Elites

June 9, 2020

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Situated at the heart of the Indo-Pacific, Southeast Asia has, in recent years, become the bellwether for the region, including the future of democratic governance. External powers, including the United States and China, have ramped up engagement with Southeast Asia and now compete for influence in the region. Amid these geopolitical shifts, Southeast Asian perspectives on dynamics that will shape the future of the region more than ever before.

In late 2019, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) conducted a survey of strategic elites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand as well as Fiji to understand how the region views trends related to power, norms, and institutions. In early 2020, CSIS conducted extensive analysis of the survey data and convened a workshop in Sydney, Australia, to further examine the results with leading experts from the countries surveyed, as well as Australia and the United States. This report presents key findings from the survey and workshop on the strategic landscape in Southeast Asia and the future of power and influence and challenges faced by the region.

This report is made possible by the generous support from the Australian Department of Defence and the Australian Embassy, Washington, D.C.

Southeast Asia is the world’s bilge dumping hotspot—what can be done to stop ships discharging waste oil?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

eco-business.com

Satellite images have revealed the illegal discharge of waste oil and sludge from ships to be a daily occurrence in Indonesia, while Southeast Asia’s biodiverse waters suffer more from the problem than anywhere. What can be done to stop the destructive practice of bilge dumping?

A beach covered in oily clumps in Bintan, Indonesia.
A beach covered in oily clumps in Bintan, Indonesia, in January 2020. Bilge dumping—the illegal discharge of waste oil from ships—is believed to be the cause, which is a daily occurrence in Indonesia, according to experts. Image: Luke Thomas
By Robin Hicks

Piracy. Illegal fishing. Slavery. The issues facing the shipping trade are increasingly well known and a highly traditional industry has at last started to confront them. But one important issue, which is as old as the trade itself, has been largely overlooked: bilge dumping.
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Indonesian environment ministry ends WWF partnership amid public spat

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
by  on 29 January 2020

  • Indonesia’s environment ministry has terminated its forest conservation partnership with WWF, citing the organization’s violations of their agreement.
  • But the spat appears to have been inflamed by high-profile social media posts that praised WWF Indonesia’s work to tackle forest fires last year during a period in which government efforts faced widespread criticism.
  • WWF Indonesia has operated in Indonesia for more than 50 years, and its ongoing programs with other government institutions remain unaffected by the environment ministry’s move.

Tiếp tục đọc “Indonesian environment ministry ends WWF partnership amid public spat” →

Southeast Asia in 2020: Issues to Watch, Part 1

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

CSIS.org

January 14, 2020

In this two-part series, Dr. Amy Searight, senior adviser and director of the CSIS Southeast Asia Program, previews five key issues to watch in Southeast Asia in 2020. This installment addresses U.S.-ASEAN relations, climate change and the imperiled Mekong, and domestic politics. The next installment will cover economic trends and developments in the digital space.

Can Trump Reset U.S.-ASEAN Relations?

Disappointingly, 2019 was a pretty bad year for U.S.-ASEAN relations. Trump had a promising start in his first year in office, hosting four Southeast Asian leaders in the White House, traveling to Vietnam and the Philippines to unveil his “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” vision, and holding a U.S.-ASEAN summit. But Trump’s interest in Southeast Asia has since appeared to wane considerably. Although Trump traveled to Vietnam in February for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he later called Vietnam the “single worst abuser” in trade relations with the United States. In November, President Trump skipped the East Asian Summit (EAS) for the third straight year, sending National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien instead. Trump’s absence in Bangkok and the historically low level of diplomatic representation at the summit ruffled a lot of feathers within ASEAN and led most of the Southeast Asian leaders to snub the U.S.-ASEAN summit held on the sidelines of the EAS (only Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos attended at the leader level). ASEAN’s disenchantment with the level of U.S. engagement came just as China was gaining new traction in the region, with a revamped Belt and Road Initiative that appeared to address regional concerns and progress toward launching the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a trade agreement between ASEAN, China, and four other regional trade partners.
Tiếp tục đọc “Southeast Asia in 2020: Issues to Watch, Part 1” →

The State of Southeast Asia 2019

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

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Abstract: The ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute conducted the “State of Southeast Asia: 2019” online survey between 18 November and 5 December 2018 to seek the views of Southeast Asians onregional affairs. The survey used the purposive sampling method, canvassing views from a total of 1,008 Southeast Asians who are regional experts and stakeholders from the policy, research, business, civil society, and media communities. As such, the results of this survey are not meant to be representative. Rather, it aims to present a general view of prevailing attitudes among those in a position to inform or influence policy on regional political, economic and social issues and concerns.

The survey is divided into five sections.

The first section sketches out the nationality and affiliation of the respondents.

Section II explores the political and economic outlook for 2019, as well as providing views on major developments in the year ahead and security concerns. Some of the issues covered in this section include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the US-China trade war, denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula and Rohingya issue.

Section III examines major power relations in the region, with a specific focus on the US and China.

Section IV looks into the region’s perception of the major powers (China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia and the US) and provides some clues as to which major power does the region trust the most (or the least).

The survey concludes with Section V which looks at three aspects of soft power – tertiary education, tourism and foreign language – as proxies of the major powers’ influence in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia’s largest wind project gets $1.1 billion funding injection

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận

Southeast Asia’s leading nation for solar energy—Thailand—could now be the frontrunner in wind energy after renewables developer WEH secured funding for the region’s biggest wind power project yet.

chaiyaphum wind farm thailand

Eco-business_The Chaiyaphum Wind Farm in Thailand’s Subyai district, Chaiyaphum province. Rising energy use in Southeast Asia is shifting the global energy system’s center of gravity towards Asia. Image: © Asian Development Bank .

By Yi Lin Boo

Thai renewables developer Wind Energy Holdings Co. Ltd (WEH) has raised US$1.1 billion to finance five new onshore wind farms in what is billed as Southeast Asia’s biggest wind energy project yet.Located in Thailand’s northeastern provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima and Chaiyaphum, the wind farms will add up to 450 megawatts of energy to the national grid on completion, slated for early 2019.Towering at a height of 157 metres, the wind farms will boast the tallest towers in the region, and will use the latest technology supplied by Vestas and General Electric. Siam Commercial Bank is financing the project. Tiếp tục đọc “Southeast Asia’s largest wind project gets $1.1 billion funding injection” →

Australia in plans to export colossal amounts of wind and solar energy to Southeast Asia

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Climateactionprogramme.org

An international consortium of energy companies has presented its plans to develop a 6 gigawatt (GW) solar and wind hybrid project in Western Australia, designed to export clean energy to Indonesia through subsea cables.

Western Australia is set to take advantage of its significant solar and wind resources to export renewable energy to Indonesia, contributing significantly to the country’s clean energy future and energy security through reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.

The proposed project is called Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) and is another mega energy project which underlines the significant opportunities that domestic renewable resources can provide for countries to become the ‘new’ energy exporters.

The hybrid power plant would be spread over 14,000 square km in flat desert land on the north-west coast of Australia.

It would comprise approximately 1,200 wind turbines supplied by Vestas, and 10 million solar panels with an aggregated capacity of 6GW – enough electricity to power more than 7 million households. Tiếp tục đọc “Australia in plans to export colossal amounts of wind and solar energy to Southeast Asia” →

Unfolding various academic mobility experiences of Southeast Asian women

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
Therese Nguyen Thi Phuong Tam &Emília Araújo ORCID Icon
Pages 1-19 | Received 19 Dec 2016, Accepted 17 Aug 2017, Published online: 08 Nov 2017

http://www.tandfonline.com/

Abstract

This article draws on data from a qualitative research study undertaken with the main aim of investigating the issue of the gender dimension of the academic mobility of Southeast Asian women. Our research describes Southeast Asian women’s experiences of mobility, narrating why they choose to be mobile, how the experience of going abroad was responded to and/or rejected by their family, how they experienced life in a different country, and what evaluations they make about these experiences in personal, familial, and professional terms. The article stresses the need to improve the understanding of the factors that are still determining the chances of women to be mobile and obtain fruitful gains from these experiences. For this to be attained, the article follows through an intersectional approach to mobility, considering it is of much use as it allows to comprehend that the disadvantages associated with gender are cumulative, multi-layered, resulting from effects of several variables, including of the emotional, social, economic, and political contexts. Tiếp tục đọc “Unfolding various academic mobility experiences of Southeast Asian women” →

China’s Mekong Plans Threaten Disaster for Countries Downstream

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Foreignpolicy

Beijing is building hydroelectric dams and dredging to allow bigger boats as worries of environmental devastation grow.
  • CATEGORIES: DISPATCH
  • Richard Bernstein

Featured image

BANGKOK — Thirty million people depend for a living on the Mekong, the great Asian river that runs through Southeast Asia from its origins in the snowfields of Tibet to its end in the delta region of Vietnam, where it fertilizes one of the world’s richest agricultural areas. It’s the greatest freshwater fishery on the planet, second only to the Amazon in its riparian biodiversity. If you control its waters, then you control much of the economy of Southeast Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “China’s Mekong Plans Threaten Disaster for Countries Downstream” →

Commentary: A golden opportunity to boost travel and tourism within Southeast Asia

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
channelnewsasia
Adopting an open skies policy will boost tourism, travel and economic growth in the region, argues Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs’ Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

 
File photo of a Singapore Airlines plane at Changi Airport. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
By Wan Saiful Wan Jan

(Updated: )

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia has a lot to offer to global tourists.

The rich cultural diversity, affordable lifestyle and beautiful geography, all make countries in the ASEAN region attractive to tourists from around the world. Growing connectivity also makes it easier for tourists to experience multiple cities and countries within the same trip. Tiếp tục đọc “Commentary: A golden opportunity to boost travel and tourism within Southeast Asia” →

Biển Đông-Cuộc chiến quyền lực ở châu Á – Chương 5: Dầu khí ở Biển Đông

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ 2 bình luận

SP – [Trích] Bill Hayton- BIỂN ĐÔNG – Cuộc chiến quyền lực ở châu Á

Chương 5

Được miếng và tay không
Dầu khí ở Biển Đông

Something and Nothing
Oil and Gas in the South China Sea

Tháng 8 năm 1990, Đông Nam Á đã trở nên rất phấn khởi về việc ‘Trung Quốc trở lại’. Đã một năm kể từ khi vụ thảm sát tại quảng trường Thiên An Môn và nhiều nhân vật có ảnh hưởng nghĩ rằng đã tới lúc quay trở lại với công việc [bang giao]. Phô trương ầm ĩ, Thủ tướng Lí Bằng, một trong những người đằng sau vụ thảm sát, đã bắt tay vào một chuyến thăm khu vực 9 ngày. Tiếp tục đọc “Biển Đông-Cuộc chiến quyền lực ở châu Á – Chương 5: Dầu khí ở Biển Đông” →

Peak oil in the South China Sea (part 1)

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

crude oil peak By matt

– February 29, 2016

The recent deployment of missile launchers and jet fighters on Woody Island of the Paracel islands have put the spotlight on the South China Sea (SCS).

Fig 1: The 200 mile Economic Exclusion Zone claimed by China around Woody Island and the overlapping 108 nm range of the HQ-9 SAM system. Image via ISI. [Image Sat International]   http://defense-update.com/20160218_woody_island_hq9.html

In this post, we focus on oil production around the SCS. Tiếp tục đọc “Peak oil in the South China Sea (part 1)” →

Child refugees held in ‘harrowing’ conditions across south-east Asia

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Guardian

Report reveals young people detained in cells 24 hours a day without enough food or proper access to healthcare, often forced to sleep on the floor

A young Rohingya refugee from Myanmar is held at a detention centre in Medan, Indonesia.
A young Rohingya refugee from Myanmar is held at a detention centre in Medan, Indonesia. Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images

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Tuesday 13 June 2017 07.15 EDT Last modified on Thursday 15 June 2017 11.42 EDT

Thousands of children are languishing in “dangerous and harrowing” conditions in detention centres across south-east Asia, a report has revealed. Children, including babies, are being held in cells 24 hours a day, alongside dozens of unrelated adults, and are frequently separated from family members. Tiếp tục đọc “Child refugees held in ‘harrowing’ conditions across south-east Asia” →