Archive: Feb 2021



STORY OF THE DAY • Feb 23, 2021 • 10 min read

History My Lai Massacre: The implication of Captain Ernest Medina, 50 years on

By William Thomas Allison • Feb 23, 2021
On this day in 1971, US Army Lieutenant William Calley took the stand, accused of killing 109 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in the hamlet of Mỹ Lai three years prior, and made a bombshell declaration – his commanding officer Captain Ernest Medina had ordered the killings

STORY OF THE DAY • Feb 23, 2021 • 7 min read

History What lessons can we learn from Thailand’s 1991 coup?

By Duncan McCargo • Feb 23, 2021
On this day in 1991, Thailand's coup-happy military staged yet another putsch that removed civilian premier Chatichai Choonavan. Three decades on, the effects of those events are still felt today, with lessons to be learned for current pro-democracy protestors

STORY OF THE DAY • Feb 22, 2021 • 8 min read

Analysis Thailand’s rising tension between public and state relations with China

By Mark S. Cogan • Feb 22, 2021
As Thailand's economy has grown increasingly reliant on Chinese tourism and investment in recent decades, so too has public distrust of the Asian giant's influence in the kingdom – a tension that risks spilling over says columnist Professor Mark S. Cogan

Feb 22, 2021 • 5 min read
Healthcare

The Vietnamese enterprise offering amputees customisable prosthetics

Prosthetics for amputees are traditionally one-size-fits-all models that allow little, if any, customisation. But Saigon-based social enterprise Vulcan Augmetics is utilising 3D printing technology to create artificial limbs that can be adapted to individual needs
By Sam Dart • Feb 22, 2021

Feb 20, 2021 • 3 min read
Editorial

The Sino-Vietnam War and Myanmar’s politics of disaster

This week we’re marking the anniversary of the Sino-Vietnam War with a wonderful piece from first-time contributor Hoang Minh Vu, in which he lays out the short-lived conflict’s significance in shaping the Cold War. Our very own Kiana Duncan also looks at the Myanmar military’s track record of pouncing on disasters to make political gains, and ask, will the coup exacerbate the pandemic?
By Andrew Haffner • Feb 20, 2021

Feb 19, 2021 • 10 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar’s politics of disaster: How the coup could worsen the pandemic

Following Myanmar's military coup, observers have pointed to how Covid conditions created an opportune moment for the putsch. But with services interrupted, health professionals marching and mass gatherings in the streets, will the coup exacerbate the pandemic?
By Kiana Duncan • Feb 19, 2021

Feb 18, 2021 • 9 min read
Wildlife trade

The first Vietnamese in Antarctica: The path to conservation for Hong Hoang

At the age of 24, Hong Hoang became the first Vietnamese to visit Antarctica, in a trip that would set her on a path to establishing her own environmental NGO. Today, through CHANGE, she battles intimidation and apathy to promote wildlife conservation across Vietnam
By Govi Snell • Feb 18, 2021

Feb 18, 2021 • 4 min read
Myanmar coup

Anti-coup hackers target Myanmar govt sites as protesters jam Yangon roads

Hackers attacked Myanmar government websites on February 18 to protest against the military coup, as the junta pressed on with its attempts to stymie nationwide opposition with internet blockades and troop deployments
By Agence France-Presse • Feb 18, 2021

Feb 18, 2021 • 7 min read
Analysis

Remaking the Royal Thai Navy for the Covid-19 pandemic era

The Covid-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for the Royal Thai Navy to launch reforms while other navies in its near-strategy environment are weakened by internal vulnerabilities, better positioning itself to generate future strategic and operational gains
By Hadrien T. Saperstein • Feb 18, 2021

Feb 17, 2021 • 9 min read
History

How the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War shaped the course of world history

February 17 marks 42 years since the Chinese invasion of Vietnam, as Beijing retaliated against Hanoi's toppling of the Khmer Rouge. A short-lived but bloody war, it would prove to be a pivotal moment in perhaps the most consequential year in recent history – 1979
By Hoang Minh Vu • Feb 17, 2021

Feb 17, 2021 • 4 min read
Drugs

Thai meth barons look closer to home as pandemic curbs exports

Thailand has long been a global gateway for exports of meth, but the coronavirus pandemic's sudden disruption of international transport has seen a surge in cut-price "yaba" tablets in the local market
By Pitcha Dangprasith and Lisa Martin/AFP • Feb 17, 2021