Paul Rivers

The Philippines and US have a long history of military cooperation. Source: Flickr The Philippines' president, Rodrigo Duterte, has announced that the joint naval exercise with the US due to be held soon will be the last, while promising to honour their long-standing defence treaty.  The...

The Thai military have shown little concern for human rights since seizing power in 2014. Source: Flickr   Thailand has prevented Amnesty International from unveiling its report that accuses the junta of torture and abuse. Shortly ahead of the briefing was due to start at a Bangkok...

President Rodrigo Duterte (centre) and his environment minister Regina Lopez. Source: Wikimedia Manila has widened a crackdown on mines over environmental concerns, sparking a surge in nickel-ore prices and highlighting worries about how to secure reliable sources of the key industrial ores used to make...

The USS Abraham Lincoln in the well-used Strait of Malacca. Source: Wikimedia Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to strengthen coordination to address problems like piracy in the Malacca Strait and Singapore Strait, reported the Indonesian Antara news agency. “The three countries are very serious in view of...

Indonesia remains incapable of addressing its history. Source: YouTube Indonesian activists are making fresh calls for the international community to expose the murders of more than 500,000 alleged communists and their supporters during a period of bloodshed 50 years ago which has few parallels in...

Fake passports are big business in Thailand. Source: Wikimedia Three men holding US and British passports have been charged after a sliced-up body was discovered in a freezer in Bangkok. Three men were arrested at a building in the Phra Khanong district on Friday where firearms...

Riau province deforestation. Source: Wikimedia Five pulpwood producers in Indonesia's Riau province face administrative sanctions over the illegal fires which contributed to last year's smog, according to Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar. They were among 15 employers whose cases were dropped by the Sumatran...

Largely non-Muslim Bali is seen as a potential terror target. Source: Pixabay The Indonesian security services on Bali have seized a ship from Malaysia carrying around 30 tonnes of fertiliser on the suspicion that it would being used to make bombs. But police later said the...

Kunming Railway Station. China hopes to link it to Asean. Source: Wikipedia Beijing and Bangkok have agreed the first phase of a planned high-speed railway link costing 179 billion baht (US$5.15 billion), according to the Thai transport minister. The 873km track will link the Thai-Laos border...

President Rodrigo Duterte extends his middle finger to the European Union. Source: YouTube Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has used agricultural language to respond to the European Union's questions about extra-judicial executions, a week after he was accused of killing around 1,000 people during his mayorship of...