Regional Round-up for Week of 10.25.2019

EXSE FOCUS

Trouble for Belt and Road in Myanmar – China Dialogue A year ago, Myanmar and China signed an agreement to establish the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), as part of China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative. Today, that corridor is mired in conflict between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups.

With China-backed Myitsone project, Aung San Suu Kyi is damned if she does… – SCMP  If Myanmar’s leader goes ahead with the long-stalled, multibillion-dollar dam she will face the wrath of displaced communities at the ballot box. // For Lu Ra, 55, growing up in Tanghre village, on the eastern banks of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, meant a life relying on Myanmar’s biggest waterway for most of her daily activities. 

Planning dam portfolios for low sediment trapping shows limits for sustainable hydropower in the Mekong – Science Advances The transboundary Mekong Basin has been dubbed the “Battery of Southeast Asia” for its large hydropower potential. Development of hydropower dams in the six riparian countries proceeds without strategic analyses of dam impacts, e.g., reduced sediment delivery to the lower Mekong. This will impact some of the world’s largest freshwater fisheries and endangers the resilience of the delta, which supports 17 million livelihoods, against rising sea levels.

REGIONAL RELATIONS

Lao gov’t gives green light to PetroTrade for Laos-Vietnam railway development – Asia News Network The Lao government has entrusted and given the right to the Petroleum Trading Lao Public Company (PetroTrade) to conduct a feasibility study on the Laos-Vietnam Railway Project, from Thakhaek district in Khammuan province, Laos, to the Vietnamese border.

Making Sense of the “Many Mekongs” – The Asia Foundation Political leaders are under constant pressure to introduce new initiatives because new implies better, and that’s the nature of politics. Even clever repackaging of previous efforts is often not enough. So, it was quite a surprise when, in June 2018, Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha hosted a summit to resurrect ACMECS, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, an initiative launched by a predecessor in 2003 that had languished for several years.

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

South-east Asian plastic waste found in Great Nicobar – The Straits Times Plastic pollution of 97% ASEAN origin has been accumulating rapidly on the Nicobar islands and leaching harmful compounds into its ecosystem. Unsustainable aspects of ASEAN’s development must be dealt with immediately to mitigate environmental destruction. // Plastic litter from South-east Asia has been accumulating along the shores of Great Nicobar, one of the archipelago’s biggest islands, posing a threat to its rich and unique ecosystem.

How Asia’s small farmers can harness technology to combat climate change and improve food security – South China Morning Post As climate change makes farming harder and more unpredictable, Asia’s millions of smallholder farmers need innovation and technology to tackle pests and crop diseases, to better meet the region’s growing food demand. 

Youth Activist Calls for Joint Effort to Clean Up Indonesia’s Seas – The Irrawaddy Local leaders in Indonesia must get involved with young people to tackle the trash problem that blights the nation’s islands and surrounding seas, a leading Asian youth environmental activist said on Monday.

Asia poised to become world leader in wind energy market by 2050 – Channel News Asia Asia is set to become the world leader in the wind energy over the next few decades and “dominate” both the onshore and offshore wind power industries, said a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency on Monday.

Southeast Asia Discovers it Can’t Say No to All Waste Imports – Asia Sentinel The aftershocks from the earthquake that passed through the US$200 billion recycling industry when China banned most recycling in July of 2017 have emanated out across Southeast Asia, with some countries first touting similar prohibitions but then putting on the brakes when they see what the recycling industry means to their economies.

Major brands linked to illegal palm oil plantation in orangutan enclave – China Dialogue Nestle, Unilever, General Mills and other consumer brands buy PalmOil from illegal plantations inside wildlife reserves housing critically endangered orangutans. The new report shows global banks also complicit by continuing to finance palm oil traders. // Major food brands like Nestle, Unilever, General Mills indirectly buy palm oil sourced from illegal plantations inside Wildlife Reserves, home to the densest population of endangered orangutans

MONRE to survey Mekong Delta’s subsidence – Vietnam News The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to make a full inspection of subsidence in the Mekong Delta provinces between 2020 and 2025. // The efforts made by the Vietnamese government to gather and provide data on the Mekong conditions reflect the importance of the issue to the government. As a downstream nation, Vietnam experiences more consequences of human interference in the river with little say in what happens upstream such as sand mining and dam building.

CHINA

 China rolls into the heart of Southeast Asia – Bangkok Post Special report: New ‘Belt and Road’ freight line set to open by the end of the year will boost trade links with superpower, writes Thana Boonlert in Xi’an. // Xi’an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Company has unveiled China’s plan to launch a freight service from Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, by the end of this year under the much-touted Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Thailand to ban glyphosate and other high-profile pesticides – Channel News Asia Thailand edged closer on Tuesday (Oct 22) to banning glyphosate and two other controversial pesticides despite protests from farmers in a multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry aiming to be the “kitchen of the world”. // Agriculture employs 40 per cent of Thailand’s population and the Southeast Asian country is one of the world’s leading rice and sugar exporters. It is also one of the biggest consumers of pesticides being banned or phased out in other parts of the globe because of links to a variety of illnesses.

Myanmar’s Rakhine Sees No Benefits From Major Projects: MP – The Irrawaddy The government plans to build a special economic zone in Kyaukphyu on the island of Ramree in Rakhine State. The township also has the Myanmar-China crude oil and natural gas pipeline projects. The Irrawaddy talked to U Kyaw Lwin, who represents Kyaukphyu in the state parliament as vice chairman of the newly formed Arakan Front Party.

Myanmar’s energy prospects, emergency tenders, and renewables – Myanmar Times Katie Patterson of Myanmar Energy Monitor talks to The Myanmar Times about the impact of Myanmar’s electricity tariff hikes, next year’s blackout risks, the potential of renewables and the sector’s investment prospects. // The Myanmar government has put in place the National Electrification Plan to achieve 100 percent electrification by 2030, but implementation is behind schedule, putting the country at risk of a potential energy crisis.

Myanmar Angers Coal Region Residents by Extending Life of Polluting Chinese-run Mine – Radio Free Asia Residents of Tigyit village tract in Myanmar’s northern Shan state are up in arms over the central government’s decision in August to extend the operation period of a Chinese-owned coal-fired power plant that they say has exceeded land use specifications, severely polluted the local environment, and jeopardized their health and their livelihoods.

Malaysia, Goldman discuss smaller penalty over 1MDB scandal: Report – Channel News Asia Goldman Sachs involvement as an underwriter for former Malaysian prime minister’s fraudulent investment fund, connected to $4.5 billion in misappropriated funds and $1 billion in alleged money laundering. // Malaysia has discussed a US$2 billion to US$3 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs over the US bank’s alleged role in the 1MDB scandal, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (Oct 23), less than half the sum the Southeast Asian nation had demanded earlier.

Thailand signs deal to build a high-speed rail linking airports in and around Bangkok – Bangkok Post  Italian, Thai,Chinese, and Japanese companies partner scheduled to complete project by 2024. // Thailand took a step closer to its high-speed rail project linking three airports in and near Bangkok with the signing of a public-private partnership on Thursday. 

Cambodia’s energy security woes – East Asia Forum This piece delves into some of the issues with Cambodia’s energy mix, such as vulnerabilities to drought and oil prices, as well as its regulation of the electricity market. // Economic growth in Cambodia is constrained by a lack of appropriate policy for electricity access and energy security. Only 50 per cent of Cambodia’s population had electricity access in 2016. Remarkably, by 2019, the number of households connected to grid electricity grew to almost 80 per cent. The challenge, however, remains for rural areas where certain remote areas have almost no electricity.