We need to talk about Japan: Tokyo’s damaging role in Southeast Asia
While China is often criticised for the negative influence it wields over Southeast Asian affairs, Japan’s role in backing authoritarian regimes and promoting rights abuses in the region remains far less publicised, but arguably no less pernicious.
Why are there roving gibbons and hornbills in Phnom Penh?
Today, you’d be lucky to spot a gibbon in the Cambodian jungle, but in the capital, a trip to Toul Tumpoung should do the trick. These primates, along with a flock of hornbills, are often seen walking the power lines of this Phnom Penh suburb, for a rather peculiar reason.
Loved and loathed: What is the secret behind Duterte’s enduring popularity?
With Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte marking four years since his inauguration, we look at the legacy of among the world’s most divisive leaders. How is the strongman at once so passionately loathed by his detractors and resoundingly loved by his supporters?
Entry 2.5: Quarantine Matters with Alexi Demetriadi
As Globe reporter Alexi Demetriadi nears the end of his Phnom Penh quarantine experience, he touches base with Alexi Demetriadi in a no-holds-barred interview to hear about how its gone, and what travellers coming to Cambodia should know.
The balancing act: How Vietnam should manage the superpowers
For decades, Vietnam has been a geopolitically significant theatre of competition for the superpowers. Today, leaders in Hanoi must navigate and leverage the competing interests of China, the US and Russia to protect its citizens, national integrity and economy. This story is part of our ongoing partnership with Pacific Forum.
Pangolin trade continues as pandemic lessons go unheeded
With the wildlife trade strongly linked to the Covid-19 outbreak, conservationists had hoped that one long-term positive effect may be a reduction in the illegal pangolin trade. Not so, it seems, as traffickers and consumers fail to heed the lessons of the pandemic.
In Siem Reap, locals take to two wheels to escape virus monotony
As the trails of Temple Town are freed from hoards of tourists, out-of-work and exercise-starved locals are reclaiming Siem Reap‘s once-crowded tarmac and taking to two wheels to escape the virus monotony.
Peatland, Southeast Asia’s wasted weapon to fight climate change
While Southeast Asia remains vulnerable to the effects of climate change, resource management remains poor in the region. Nowhere is this more evident than with peatlands, the region’s biggest weapon against climate change, exploited and damaged in the name of profit.
[Photos] A Cambodian community’s struggle to survive virus economic fallout
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Cambodia’s urban-poor communities have suffered severe economic shocks and fallen further into poverty. Without a secure social security safety net to fall back on, many are now relying on NGOs to keep them afloat.
