The Rise of the BJP’s Hindutva Ideology in Bangladesh
On August 9, the day after Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Hindus, a religious minority making up 8 percent of the Bangladeshi population,...
View ArticleWith Fall of Bashar al-Assad, India Loses a Friend
The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has evoked deep concern in India, prompting New Delhi to respond cautiously to the rapidly changing events in the region. In its first statement after...
View ArticleTrump Sarkar 2.0: The Future of the India-US Global Partnership
In New Delhi, Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States presidential election brought back fond memories, including of the “Howdy Modi” and “Namaste Trump” summits the two leaders exchanged...
View ArticleLaos Bestows National Development Award on Sanctioned Chinese ‘Crime Boss’
Laos’s government has again bestowed a national award on the head of a special economic zone in the country’s northwest which has been linked to a host of criminal activities, including online scamming...
View ArticleWhy Sri Lanka’s Minorities Voted for a Sinhalese Party
The National People’s Power’s (NPP) victory in the November 14 general elections — it secured 61 percent of the vote and 159 of 225 seats in parliament — is a remarkable performance in Sri Lanka’s...
View ArticleCambodian Journalist Killed While Covering Illegal Logging
A Cambodian journalist has died of a bullet wound after being shot while covering illegal logging in this country’s remote northwest, sparking an outcry among press freedom groups, though authorities...
View ArticleThe Legitimization of Land Grabbing in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Sector
A new report on land grabbing and urban forced evictions, published by a network of independent Uzbek civil rights activists in collaboration with the University of Ulster and Uzbek Forum for Human...
View ArticleArrest of Kyrgyz Lawyer an Attack on the Legal Profession
The name Samat Matsakov is one you often hear spoken in Kyrgyzstan these days. The defense lawyer was arrested on November 29, 2024, with the Kyrgyzstani State Committee for National Security (GKNB)...
View ArticleMyanmar and China: An American View with Michael Martin
Michael Martin, adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., returns to Beyond the Mekong amid speculation that China and Myanmar’s military junta are...
View ArticlePhilippines Will Not Deploy Navy in Stand-offs With China, Marcos Says
The Philippines will not send its navy to the South China Sea in response to recent frictions with China, the country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said yesterday, claiming that such a move would be...
View ArticleDid Filipino-Americans Help Trump Win Nevada?
“Let’s do a poll.” Donald Trump was addressing a campaign rally outside Las Vegas two weeks before the November 5 election. The event was an outreach to Asian-American voters in Nevada, the “swingiest”...
View ArticleThe Taxman Cometh in Southeast Asia
The last several years have seen a raft of tax increases across Southeast Asia. Singapore has raised its Goods and Services Tax (GST) twice in the last two years, bringing it up to 9 percent as of...
View ArticleMyanmar Economy to Shrink Further in 2025, World Bank Says
Myanmar’s economy is set to contract further in 2025, the World Bank said in its latest outlook, after a year of conflict in which resistance groups made significant inroads against the country’s...
View ArticleThai Government Approves Measures to Reduce Household Debt
Thailand’s cabinet has approved a range of debt relief measures aimed at reducing the nation’s alarmingly high levels of household debt, the country’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced...
View ArticleIn Recent Border Controversies, Thailand’s Government Has Been Missing in Action
Cambodia and Thailand have a maritime border dispute that dates back to 1973. Under the leadership of prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen, the Cambodian and Thai governments were able to...
View ArticleBeijing Is Squeezing Taiwan in the Pacific. The US Must Act.
Last week, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te went on a whirlwind tour of the Pacific, visiting three countries that belong to a highly exclusive club: Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. It is up to the United...
View ArticleIn Defiant Address, Yoon Denies Treason Charges, Vows to Fight on
On December 12, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addressed the South Korean public – the second such address since he lifted martial law on December 4. During his speech, which lasted nearly 30...
View ArticleWhat Will Donald Trump’s Priorities Be in the Asia-Pacific?
Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election last month has led to a growing debate over the form his foreign policy will take. At the core of this debate is the question of which issues he...
View ArticleThe Importance of the EU-Philippines Trade Deal
In March 2024, the European Union and the Philippines took a significant step forward by agreeing to resume bilateral negotiations focused on finalizing a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA). This...
View ArticleWhat Has Changed in Post-Hasina Bangladesh?
Last month, I returned to Bangladesh for three weeks. It was my first time back in my home country after over six years in exile. November 7, the date of my arrival there, holds a special meaning to...
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