Power

Political reporting and analysis on the big questions facing the region.

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 10, 2020 • 6 min read

Analysis As Thailand recovers from Covid-19, its volatile domestic politics returns

By Sek Sophal • Jun 10, 2020
While the Covid-19 crisis has placed life on hold in Thailand in recent months, the country's chronically tumultuous domestic political scene is rearing its head again. Researcher Sek Sophal discusses what the kingdom's post-virus political landscape could look like

Power • STORY OF THE DAY • Jun 09, 2020 • 2 min read

Thai dissidents Cambodia to probe Thai democracy activist’s alleged disappearance

By Agence France-Presse • Jun 09, 2020
Cambodian police have said they will investigate the alleged abduction of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a critic of the ex-general Prayut Chan-O-Cha's Thai government, who witnesses say was dragged into a black car in Phnom Penh on June 4

Power • Jun 04, 2020 • 3 min read
Duterte's Philippines

UN: People killed with ‘near impunity’ in Philippine drug war

A UN report on June 4 called for an independent investigation into rights abuses in the Philippines as it accused President Rodrigo Duterte's infamous drug war of unleashing widespread and systematic killing with "near impunity"
By Agence France-Presse • Jun 04, 2020

Power • Jun 02, 2020 • 12 min read
International sanctions

Despite sanctions, how active is North Korean business in Southeast Asia?

The deadline to adhere to UN sanctions on North Korean businesses passed in late-2019, with notable efforts made to close ventures across Southeast Asia. But with attention elsewhere and the pressure off, sanctions adherence may fall on the backburner
By Alexi Demetriadi • Jun 02, 2020

Power • May 21, 2020 • 8 min read
Drug trafficking

As governments turn to the virus, Southeast Asia’s narcotics trade booms

Southeast Asia's booming narcotics industry has only been given a helping hand in recent months as governments turn their attention to combating Covid-19. With prices dropping and potency rising, the drug trade could be set to hit the region harder than ever
By Andrew Haffner • May 21, 2020

Power • May 20, 2020 • 6 min read
Philippines press freedom

Embattled ABS-CBN’s future shrouded in doubt, but newsroom fights on

In the Philippines, the future of ABS-CBN remains uncertain as a decision on whether to allow it to return to air meanders through the nation's political system. But in the newsroom, one of the network's few branches still operating, news chief Ging Reyes says there is a renewed drive and energy
By Alexi Demetriadi • May 20, 2020

Power • May 15, 2020 • 7 min read
Regional cooperation

ASEAN’s Covid-19 response: United in name, divided in practice

In keeping with ASEAN's recent history of divided responses to regionally important issues, the bloc's collective efforts to combat Covid-19 have proved far from unified. But an institution in which individual members are placed above the collective, should observers have anticipated any different?
By Alexi Demetriadi • May 15, 2020

Power • May 14, 2020 • 6 min read
Human rights

Amnesty International: Cambodia’s war on drugs an ‘unmitigated disaster’

In 2017 Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a crackdown on narcotics in the Kingdom. Three years on, rights group Amnesty International says the campaign has been a failure, resulting in rampant rights abuses and overcrowded prisons
By Andrew Haffner • May 14, 2020

Power • May 07, 2020 • 4 min read
Opinion

‘Duterte’s dictatorship is complete with closure of major news network’

With the closure of the Philippines largest television network ABS-CBN this week, press freedom looks at its weakest since the Marcos era. Dr Tom Smith argues that the move has merely cemented what many suspected – Rodrigo Duterte has embraced dictatorship
By Tom Smith • May 07, 2020