Tag: Southeast Asia

World News

Fold or Call: Is the Philippines’ POGO Problem a National Security Threat?

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Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGO) have shaken the Philippines’ perception of its internal security amid allegations of linked violent crimes and espionage. For several months the ongoing situation created more questions than any of the country’s officials can answer. Such issues have led to calls to raise it as a national security threat. However, security agencies refuse to do so despite the issue’s overwhelming severity.

REPORT

[REPORT] The Broken Nation: Myanmar’s Struggle Towards a National Identity

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For the entirety of Myanmar’s existence as an independent state, the civil war is the clearest opportunity for the country to form a shared national identity. The Tatmadaw’s repression effectively united the warring minorities towards the goal of peace and unity. If this emerging unity remains intact and further develops, it can be said that this conflict’s end may very well determine whether or not Myanmar will become a nation that identifies itself as wholly united in its diversity. 

World News

The Golden Triangle’s City Built on Dirty Money

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For decades, the Golden Triangle, a region wedged between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos along the Mekong River, has been synonymous with opium production, organised crime, and rebel militias. In recent years, in the northern part of Laos, the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has come under the control of Chinese casino mogul Zhao Wei, since his Hong Kong registered company, Kings Romans, leased the land for 99 years.

World News

BRP Sierra Madre: The Waves of Uncertainty Surrounding the Sentry of the Second Thomas Shoal

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The BRP Sierra Madre acts as the Philippines’ stronghold over the Second Thomas Shoal against Chinese advances in the South China Sea. In the past year, tensions in the region have escalated, with both nations’ coast guard services engaged in heated confrontations. Due to the shoal’s strategic location, both countries employed risky strategies to pursue their goals of controlling this location. Hence, turning the shoal and the BRP Sierra Madre into the South China Sea’s new geopolitical flashpoint towards the boundaries of a possible conflict.

World News

(Analysis) Assessing the Added Value of European Engagement with Southeast Asia

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Southeast Asia locates at the core of the wider Indo-Pacific region and embraces one of the globe’s most crucial bodies of water for maritime trade, the South China Sea. Being also home to vibrantly growing economies, the region holds great strategic importance for most global players. This includes the European Union (EU), whose interests in such a faraway area are of vital importance and include both economic relationships and regional security.