Asean morning news for June 12

Asean morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

No quick Asean fix for Rakhine state
When Asean’s leaders meet in Bangkok for their summit on June 22-23, they will discuss a preliminary report about Myanmar by the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).
— Bangkok Post

Laos Worst Place In ASEAN For Children
With the exception of Singapore, none of the ASEAN countries are doing so well in terms of providing a great place for their children to live in.
— J&C/ The Asean Post

Commentary: Was tough talk on South China Sea to boost US export of drones to Southeast Asia?
The recent announcement by the United States that several Southeast Asian partner nations will receive unmanned surveillance drones has garnered some interest, particularly given the deterioration in relations between the US and China over security and trade issues.
— CNA

Vietnam to help raise ASEAN position in UN: Thai media
Vietnam will continue to raise ASEAN’s position at the United Nations (UN), particularly after being voted to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the second time, according to an article published on June 11 by Thailand’s Bangkok Post newspaper.
— Vietnamplus

ASEAN WEEKLY EP.27 | 11-06-19
A round-up of Thailand in Asean over the past week as seen by NBT World
— NBT World (video)

CIMB to offer Thai companies 100bn baht ASEAN business expansion loans
Business expansion of Thai companies into other countries is being promoted to reduce the effects of trade wars. CIMB Thai is set to offer a total of 100 billion baht in loans for Thai businesses to expand their operations across ASEAN as part of the bank’s ASEAN Platform campaign.
— NNT

AHA Centre defends leaked report on Rohingya refugees
ASEAN’s disaster management unit AHA Centre has come out to defend its assessment of the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, following an outcry over the report it had submitted to Myanmar at the end of May.
— CNA

Lorenzana asks countries to be more cautious when passing through PHL waters
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has urged the United States and other countries to me more careful when passing through Philippine territorial waters, saying the Philippines may have to get involved when a collision involving the US results in a shooting war.
— GMA News

U.S. Bulks Up Coast Guard in Pacific to Counter China Fleet
The U.S. Coast Guard is touting increased operations in the Western Pacific, thousands of miles from American shores, as China’s coast guard and civilian fishing militias increasingly assert the country’s territorial claims.
— Bloomberg

Thailand announces its readiness to host 37th SOME
Thailand is ready to host the 37th Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) to push for concrete regional energy cooperation.
— NNT

Vigilant of the past, Germany wades warily into the South China Sea
When German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen visited Beijing in October, she was careful to avoid mentioning the South China Sea directly.
— South China Morning Post

A Booming Meth Trade Challenges Southeast Asia’s Approach to Drug Policy
On a balcony in the heart of downtown Bangkok, Thailand’s sprawling capital, Jirasak Sirpramong smokes cigarettes while discussing his experiences with methamphetamine, a drug he has been using for 25 years. “I love it,” he says, “because it makes my brain so clear.”
— WPR

Citi launches credit cards with Southeast Asia’s Grab in push for more customers
Citigroup has teamed up with Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab to launch co-branded credit cards, as it looks to boost its Asian customer base by about 13% via partnerships with digital firms, a senior Citi executive said.
— CNBC

Time to rethink ASEAN’s rights body
Human rights are increasingly under attack in Southeast Asia. Atrocities against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and extrajudicial killings through President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” in the Philippines likely amount to crimes against humanity.
— The Jakarta Post (paywall)

Vietnam high on CNN travel list
Vietnam’s capital Hanoi and Phu Quoc island off Vietnam’s southern coast both made it to CNN’ s list of the 17 best places to visit in Asia.
— TTR Weekly

10 Incredible UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia, for That Unforgettable Cultural Trip
As part of travel360.com’s own UNESCO World Heritage sites week, we list down some of the most amazing sites in our very own backyard, so to speak.
— The Asean Post

Four ASEAN countries to upgrade health-related tourism
Thailand’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion and the Kenan Foundation Asia organized a workshop for four ASEAN countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, on the development of SME operators’ health-related products and services.
— NNT

Cambodia morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Criminal Code to be used in brick kiln child labour cases
The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has urged all relevant departments to use the Criminal Code to prosecute brick kiln owners who use child labour. And the owner of a Kandal facility at which a young girl lost her arm will be among the first to face criminal charges.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Rising concern in Cambodia over immigrant workers
While Chinese investment is part of stimulating growth and development in Cambodia, growing numbers of Chinese nationals have been investigated for allegedly committing a number of offenses in the country, including assault, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and organizing prostitution.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Angkor elephant retire in 2020
Cambodia will ban elephant rides at the Angkor Wat Historical Park in Siem Reap by early 2020.
— TTR Weekly

See here for more of today’s Cambodia morning news

Indonesia morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Indonesian suspects detail alleged plot to kill top officials
Indonesian police on Tuesday aired video testimony from three suspects who alleged a retired soldier backing the political opposition had offered them money and, in one case, a family vacation to join a plot to kill government officials.
— Reuters

Indonesia c.bank sees 2020 GDP growth at 5.1-5.5%
Indonesia’s central bank sees economic growth of 5.1-5.5% in 2020, while continuing to monitor global economic conditions to assess whether there is scope for an “accommodative monetary policy”, Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday.
— Reuters

Bogor to issue fines of Rp50 million for littering
The local government of Bogor district in West Java will impose a fine of 50 million Rupiah and a maximum imprisonment of three months for people convicted of littering.
— Antara News

See here for more of today’s Indonesia morning news

Lao PDR morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Laos’ mineral output rises despite world commodity price drop
The value of mineral exports and domestic sales in Laos increased in the first quarter of this year despite lower commodity prices on the world market, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Tuesday.
— Xinhuanet

Drones, boats and megabaht: Laos route spews meth into Thailand
As dusk falls along the Mekong River, a nightly dance begins between Thai border security and Laos drug gangs now using drones, scouts and a pool of poor fishermen to shift record amounts of meth into Thailand.
— Bangkok Post

See here for more of today’s Lao morning news

Malaysia morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Approved investments rise to RM53.9b in Q1, up 3.1% year on year
Malaysia registered a total of RM53.9 billion approved investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors for the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019), 3.1% higher than the RM52.3 billion recorded in the same period last year.
— The Sun Daily

Malaysia set to lead circular economy in Southeast Asia
Malaysia aims to lead the development of a circular economy in Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Yeo Bee Yin said on Tuesday.
— Xinhua

Dr M on leaked homosexual video of minister: Show me the sex clips
Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked reporters to show him a video reportedly showing a Malaysian federal minister having homosexual intercourse.
— The Independent

See here for more of today’s Malaysia Morning News

Myanmar morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Myanmar gets additional rice export quota
Myanmar needs to export rice to China before October as quickly as possible as Myanmar has got an additional rice export quota of 100,000 tons from China, said Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister for Commerce, at a coordination meeting on the export of rice to China via sea, at the ministry of commerce in Nay Pyi Taw on June 10.
— Eleven Myanmar

Cambodian food delivery startup Meal Temple invests in Myanmar-based Freshgora
Food delivery startup Meal Temple Group said it has invested in Myanmar-based Freshgora to expand its footprint in the frontier markets of Asia.
— Tech In Asia

AHA Centre defends leaked report on Rohingya refugees
ASEAN’s disaster management unit AHA Centre has come out to defend its assessment of the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, following an outcry over the report it had submitted to Myanmar at the end of May.
— Channel NewsAsia

See here for more of today’s Myanmar morning news

Philippines morning news

Compiled by Stella-maris Ewudolu @stmarisewudolu

Investments surged 40% to P290.6b in five months
The Board of Investments approved P290.6 billion worth of investment commitments in the first five months of the year, up 40 percent from P207.5 billion year-on-year.
— Manilastandard.net

Trade deficit narrows to $3.5 B in April
The country’s trade position improved in April as exports went up marginally while imports declined, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

WellMed owner charged
Estafa and falsification of public documents charges have been filed against one of the owners of WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center, the clinic at the heart of a scam that has led to the sacking of top Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) officials.
— The Manila Times

See here for more of today’s Philippines morning news

Singapore morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

GrabCar fined for unauthorised disclosure of customer data in 120,000 marketing emails
GrabCar has been ordered to pay a financial penalty of S$16,000 after it sent out more than 120,000 marketing emails to customers containing the name and mobile phone number of another customer.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

MAS bars remittance firms from offering loans
Remittance firms will be barred from lending money from Sept 10 as the authorities move to better protect consumers – many of them foreign maids here – and close off what industry observers say is a regulatory loophole.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Kaplan Professional’s WSQ courses suspended
Kaplan Professional has been barred from conducting Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses for 12 months – its second suspension since December last year – after further audit checks uncovered serious lapses.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

See here for more of today’s Singapore morning news

Thailand morning news

Compiled by John Le Fevre @photo_journ

Government formation almost complete with no review of cabinet seats
The formation of the new government is expected to be completed soon, without a review of the cabinet seats earlier promised by the Palang Pracharat party to its two key…
— Thai PBS News

Freedom House Rates Thailand as “Not Free”
The junta’s unchecked power, Computer Crimes Act cases, and weak labor unions have led Freedom House to rank Thailand as “not free” in its annual report on political rights and civil liberties around the world.
— Khaosod English

Premchai given one-year prison term on bribery charge
Construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta was this morning (Tuesday) sentenced to one-year in prison, without suspension, after he was found guilty of bribery, in connection with the illegal hunting scandal in Thungyai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary last year, by the Region 7 Criminal Court for Corruption Cases.
— Thai PBS News

See here for more of today’s Thailand morning news

Vietnam morning news

Compiled by Sreypov Men @MenSreypov

Hanoi to curb fake ‘Made-in-Vietnam’ goods
Hanoi has vowed to crack down on manufacturers illegally using “Made in Vietnam” labels on items destined for America to dodge punishing tariffs as the US-China trade spat drags on.
— The Asean post

Vietnam posts $1.3bn trade deficit in May, matches forecast
Vietnam had a trade deficit of $1.3 billion in May, matching the government’s forecast, customs data showed on Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post

Vietnam’s chemical import increases 7.9 pct in 5 months
Vietnam spent nearly 2.2 billion U.S. dollars importing chemicals and over 2.1 billion U.S. dollars importing chemical products in the first five months of this year, up 7.9 percent and 6.9 percent on-year, respectively.
— Xinhua

See here for more of today’s Vietnam morning news

The Asean morning news roundup and its individual country morning news round-ups are the most comprehensive hand-curated selection of news reports from around the Asean Economic Community (AEC) published. We scour hundreds of local and international news and websites to find the things that you need to know to start your working week day.

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