Laos
ASEAN summit a chance for Australia to reach out to mainland Southeast Asia
A special Interpreter series ahead of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, 4-6 March. Read more articles in this thread.
Australia’s diplomacy with…
Russia’s shadow tanker fleet runs into trouble
Barring new evasive techniques by Kremlin technocrats, the rapid rise in Russia’s shadow tanker fleet since the Ukraine war may be reversing as pressure is brought to bear on…
Home grown: Building a stronger food system in Laos
One of the smallest and most sparsely populated nations in Southeast Asia, the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic (Lao PDR, or Laos), a mountainous, landlocked country wedged…
What price will Laos need to pay to be saved, and will China pay it?
Laos offers a fascinating case study about China’s approach to debt. How much will Beijing be willing to concede on the debt owed by a friend and fellow communist country?
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Mekong River: Turning declaration into actions
Laos hosted a four-day Mekong River Commission leadership summit and conference last week, focusing on this vital waterway for Southeast Asia.
Australia has been engaged in the…
Economic diplomacy: unlocked Laos looks for new links
All aboard
Next year will be the 30th anniversary of one of Australia’s signature contributions to economic development in Southeast Asia – the Friendship Bridge spanning the…
Mekong River: Work has begun on the Luang Prabang Dam site
The Luang Prabang Dam – one of three new dam sites currently slated for construction in Laos – has been a target of sharp criticism. Situated along the stretch of the Mekong River…
With caution and tact: How Asian countries voted on Ukraine at the UN
On 26 February last year, a few days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued a statement expressing “concern’’ over the “evolving…
Diplomacy is indispensable to manage the Mekong
Milton Osborne mischaracterises the Mekong River Commission when writing last month in The Interpreter that the regional organisation “ignores reality”. To say we were …
How the Mekong River Commission ignores reality
Among the many “days” celebrated by the international community, one entrant seems especially incongruous. “Mekong Day” was proclaimed by the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC)…