Random SEA headlines
No excerpts this week because I was wayy too busy.
22/03/2024 Thai ports bemoan competitive decline as Srettha pushes land bridge
24/03/2024 Singapore-Malaysia's water row A good primer if anyone is interested in Singapore-Malaysia water politics.
14/03/2024 Japan, ASEAN to integrate QR code payments from 2025
Most of ASEAN have already integrated QR payments as a means of building an alternative financial system that is more resilient from Western financial warfare.
22/03/2024 ASEAN, China, Hong Kong cooperate for first time in textile industry
Controlling substance abuse is also a hot topic for Thailand’s neighbour, where there have been outcry about the government dropping GEG (Generational Endgame) and electronic smoking devices from the Anti-Smoking bill passed late last year. The GEG would have banned the consumption and sale of Tobacco for anyone born after 2005.
18/03/2024 Thai Parliament Set to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage By Year’s End, Official Says
22/03/2024 Three landmark agreements between S’pore and Indonesia take effect, including on airspace management
Semiconductor news on Malaysia
22/03/2024 ASML supplier Neways to build new plant in Malaysia
11/03/2024 Malaysia: the surprise winner from US-China chip wars
13/03/2024 Malaysia Rises as Crucial Link in chip supply chain
I can’t say much about Russia’s internal divisions but muslims outside view Russia very positively.
Speaking from a Southeast Asian angle, you can easily find posts online on TikTok and YouTube praising Putin. Because to many muslims here, Orthodox Christian Russia is seen as treating muslims more favourably than the “secularists” in the West and so I don’t doubt that it was definitely intended to stoke division.