For almost two years, Malaysia and China have been making elaborate preparations to commemorate the historic 40th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship in 2014 (The Star, August 29, 2012). Yet the first few months of “Malaysia-China Friendship Year” have been anything but celebratory, with greater... MORE

On January 1, new fishing regulations for the South China Sea, issued by the province of Hainan, went into effect, prompting objections from China’s territorial rivals in Southeast Asia, as well as the United States and Japan (Xinhua, January 10). Chinese spokespeople have sought to... MORE

On November 29 of last year, Hainan’s legislature approved revised measures (banfa) for implementing the PRC Fisheries Law. Unlike earlier provincial fisheries regulations, the new measures single out “foreigners and foreign fishing vessels” as requiring special permission to operate within Hainan’s jurisdiction, effective January 1... MORE

Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, killed 5,719 and injured 26,233 and displaced more than four million people (ndrrmc.gov.ph, December 4; Manila Bulletin, November 20). This is more than 4% of the country's total population. To put this into perspective, by comparison, approximately... MORE

With China promoting its own Silk Road vision in Central Asia, it seems that the New Silk Road Initiative promoted by the United States has been eclipsed. Nonetheless, there is still an opportunity for the US to promote much-needed trade relations between Central Asia and... MORE

In July of this year, China enacted its first major reform to its immigration policy since 1986. Passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in 2012, the Exit-Entry Administration Law, which has replaced the Law for Foreigners and the Law for Citizens, features harsher... MORE

For Taiwan, November has been marked by a burst of activity on the regional trade front. On November 7, Taiwan signed a free trade agreement with Singapore, a day after signing five smaller economic deals with Japan on e-commerce, pharmaceutical regulation, railways, patent recognition and... MORE

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang embarked on high-profile trips to five Southeast Asian nations to attend the latest round of Asian summitry and commemorate a decade of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian... MORE

A wave of violent clashes that swept Myanmar’s restive Rakhine State (formerly known as Arakan) in late September left at least five Muslims dead and many members of their community injured and displaced. The epicenter of the violence was the city of Thandwe, which was... MORE