What a High-Level Sacking in Vietnam Reveals About Communist Party Rifts
Vietnam’s campaign against corruption notched a significant victory earlier this month with the removal of a top Politburo official for “very serious mistakes and violations” while he was chair of PetroVietnam, the state-owned oil and gas company. But analysts say that there is a more complicated story behind the rare Politburo sacking—just the fourth in...
Communist Hard-Liners Ascendant in Vietnam, Despite TPP Membership
PHNOM PENH—Conservative forces have strengthened their grip in Vietnam after the ruling Communist Party, late last month, elected its incumbent general-secretary to a second five-year term in the country’s top political office.
Great Expectations: Will Myanmar’s Election Bring Real Change?
On Nov. 8, an estimated 30 million people took part in Myanmar’s first free national election in a quarter-century.
Myanmar Ethnic Clashes Put Spotlight on China
MAE SOT, Thailand — On June 9, deadly clashes broke out in northern Myanmar between the country’s army and the ethnic minority Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The fighting reportedly erupted after Myanmar’s military moved to secure the Tarpein Hydropower Project, a Chinese-built dam that came online in January. The plant, which sits on a tributary...
Thailand’s domestic politics drives Cambodian border clash
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia–Since the morning of April 22, Thai and Cambodian troops have waged a series of heated firefights along sections of their shared border. The two sides have now traded artillery and small-arms fire for a week, leaving at least 13 soldiers dead on both sides and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands...
