Is anti-Vietnamese sentiment on the decline in Cambodia?
Many Cambodians have long seen Vietnam with a weary eye, regarding their neighbour to the east as an antagonist and coloniser. But as new geopolitical realities settle over the region, could there be room for closer partnership — even friendship? Globe lead editor Alastair McCready investigates from Phnom Penh.
What’s to become of Hanoi’s last green holdout ‘Banana Island’?
On the other side of the border, Globe reporter Ashley Lampard left the streets of Hanoi and ventured into a banana wonderland. That’s how he tells it anyway. In his latest, Ashley explored the offbeat Banana Island, an urban holdout from development home to small communities of the capital’s unregistered citizens. An interesting and colourful picture of urbanising Vietnam.
The Raffles cult: How colonial narratives live on in Singapore’s psyche
Sir Stamford Raffles is often credited as the ‘founder of modern Singapore’. He’s also one of the most visible symbols of British colonialism left standing in a former colony. In this edited extract from Raffles Renounced: Towards a Merdeka History, author and historian Faris Joraimi shares a critical lens on the man behind the image.
‘Be a leader’: Sochua calls on king to intervene to ensure her return
Alastair caught up this week with exiled Cambodian opposition leader Mu Sochua, a vice president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Sochua is set to stand trial for alleged crimes in Cambodia, but with the ruling government forbidding her return, she’s weighing her options from afar.
As Chinese UUV found in Indonesian waters, a strong message must be sent
The oceans may be vast, but they’re apparently not big enough to hide a Chinese unmanned underwater vehicle wandering far from home off the coast of Indonesia. Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, lecturer in international law at the University of Indonesia and member of the Pacific Forum Foreign Policy Research Institute weighs in on the implications for this latest conflict between China and its neighbours on the high seas.
After diagnosis, Isaan filmmaker set to challenge Thai taboos around cancer
Globe reporter Tara Abhasakun brings us this poignant story from Thai filmmaker Ploy Naruemon Chaingam. Diagnosed with stage-two lymphoma, Ploy is now set to chronicle the struggles with cancer in Thailand while addressing the Kingdom’s societal taboos surrounding the disease.
The hard fight to increase women’s political participation in Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy, but persistently low levels of female political participation undercut true representation for the public. Policy specialist Dian Maya Safitri outlines the reasons why ambitious gender equity plans haven’t yet succeeded and draws us a map for how the future could be different.
