Laos

EXPLAINER
‘Baby steps’ for ASEAN as it wraps up first-ever joint military drills
The exercise focused on humanitarian relief as the regional grouping makes tentative steps towards military cooperation.
Published On 25 Sep 2023
Few customers but plenty of cash?: N Korean restaurants remain open in Laos
Restaurants should have closed and analysts say they suspect their only purpose is to ‘launder money’.
Published On 11 Sep 2023
Myanmar rejects ASEAN statement condemning violence as ‘one-sided’
Generals lash out after 10-member grouping urges ‘Myanmar Armed Forces in particular’ to end civilian attacks.
Published On 6 Sep 2023
‘Severe stress’: Myanmar, South China Sea push ASEAN to breaking point
As week of key meetings gets under way, Indonesia’s foreign minister tells counterparts the group must prove its worth.
Published On 4 Sep 2023

The US stopped bombing Cambodia half a century ago. Cambodians are still dying from the ‘bombies’ that litter their land

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says almost 151 tonnes of methamphetamine seized in Southeast, East Asia in 2022.

Drills come as US and China ramp up military diplomacy in Asia Pacific, staging more frequent war games with partners.

As leaders of regional bloc meet in Indonesia, crisis triggered by February 2021 military coup strikes close to home.

A low-intensity but bloody battle is being fought to contain the flow of drugs from Southeast Asia’s ‘Golden Triangle’.

The revival of opium production in the Golden Triangle comes on top of a booming synthetic drug industry.

Opium poppy was cultivated on more than 40,000 hectares in Myanmar last year, a 33 percent increase compared with 2021.

Large hauls of crystal meth were smuggled inside tea and coffee packages and hidden in secret compartments of vehicles.

Almost 500,000 methamphetamine pills found after clash between Thai forces and suspected smugglers in Thailand’s north.

Writer Kao Kalia Yang reflects on her friendship with an older couple who has guided her life – and her career.

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