Politics

6 August 2024
John Lee, center, in Ho Chi Minh City. He is the first Hong Kong chief executive to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
The Pyongyang Restaurant in Vientiane no longer has clear signage identifying it by that name. (Photo by Junnoruke Kobara)
International relations

North Korean restaurants in Laos fly under radar

No signs, but plenty of clues to connection with Pyongyang

5 August 2024
Foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries pose for a photo on the day of the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Centre in Vientiane on July 25.
International relations

ASEAN ministers at loggerheads over Israel-Hamas conflict

Malaysia pushes line condemning violence, as Singapore, Thailand cause 'some discord'

27 July 2024
ASEAN's headquarters in Jakarta. This year's meetings of foreign ministers take place at a critical juncture as unrest in Myanmar threatens the bloc's unity and tensions in the South China Sea rise. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Myanmar Crisis

ASEAN ministers seek Myanmar breakthrough with 'troika' model

Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia to hold 'informal consultation' as regional talks begin

24 July 2024
Laos recently ousted the head of its central bank as authorities in the debt-laden country scramble for scarce foreign currency. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Ken Kobayashi)
Economy

Laos central bank shake-up reveals forex crisis, China dependence

Vientiane may need more help from Beijing to stem cash outflows

14 July 2024
Laos' weakening currency threatens faster food price inflation. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Economy

Laos, other debt-laden Asia-Pacific nations under pressure from strong dollar

ADB boosts funding for vulnerable countries amid debt trap fears

7 May 2024
The Laotian kip has depreciated by more than 10% from a year earlier. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
International relations

ASEAN finance chiefs to seek progress on cross-border payments

Host nation Laos looks to soften economic fallout from China slowdown

5 April 2024
Beijing is receiving one Southeast Asian dignitary after another this week, as the government seeks to shore up ties in the region. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)
International relations

China hosts Vietnam, Laos, East Timor ministers in ASEAN outreach

After Indonesia's Prabowo, Beijing woos diplomats from countries not aligned with U.S.

2 April 2024
The Nam Ou hydroelectric plant, consisting of seven dams, is one of the largest power generation facilities in Laos' north. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Energy

China goes big on Laos power projects, boosting Southeast Asian sway

Belt and Road Mekong River dams help Beijing secure renewable energy

12 March 2024
A ship transports containers down the Mekong River. Recently installed Cambodian PM Hun Manet said the $1.7 billion China-backed canal project would allow his country to "breathe through our own nose," diverting its goods for export directly to its own coast rather than via the Vietnam-controlled Mekong Delta. (Photo by Jack Brook)
Asia Insight

Cambodia to divert Mekong trade via China-built canal, vexing Vietnam

Planned Phnom Penh-coast link raises alarms amid regional influence tussle

12 March 2024
A senior official from Myanmar attends the ASEAN defense ministers' meeting in Luang Prabang on March 5. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
Myanmar Crisis

ASEAN considers including Europe in defense talks to enhance ties

Move comes as China's clout grows, global tensions spill into Southeast Asia

5 March 2024
Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith speaks during a news conference after foreign ministers from ASEAN members met in Luang Prabang on Jan. 29. (Photo by Kenya Akama)
International relations

ASEAN to start sending humanitarian aid to Myanmar in February

Chair country Laos sees 'a light at the end of tunnel' after three-year crisis

29 January 2024
Laborers stand on top of the illuminated grand temple of Lord Ram ahead of its opening in Ayodhya in India.
Your Week in Asia

India opens Ayodhya Hindu temple, BOJ meeting, Hyundai Motor earnings

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

21 January 2024
Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone speaks at the closing ceremony of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on Sept. 7, 2023, as his country was set to take over the bloc's chair from Indonesia.
International relations

Laos' ASEAN chairmanship faces Chinese reality check

Debt-laden country leads 10-member bloc facing geopolitical challenges

16 January 2024
Myanmar has essentially been shut out from ASEAN summits since the country's military took control in February 2021. (Pool photo via Reuters)
Myanmar Crisis

Laos sends special envoy to Myanmar in new role as ASEAN chair

Veteran diplomat Alounkeo to meet with top general Min Aung Hlaing

10 January 2024
Chinese online scam suspects are escorted by Chinese police officers before being deported from Cambodia in 2017.
Crime

Global law enforcement targets Southeast Asian cyberscam gangs

U.K. launches first sanctions against suspects involved in online fraud schemes

13 December 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, pose for a group photo at the Third Belt and Road Forum on October 18, 2023 in Beijing, China.
Belt and Road

On topic: A decade of China's Belt and Road

A collection of stories to catch up on a recent hot topic

21 October 2023
Bets are placed at a small gambling hall in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. (Photo by Alastair McCready)
Asia Insight

Will Laos' economic zones boost growth or bring in criminals?

Amid bold plans, experts say border hubs like Boten face uncertain prospects

10 October 2023
Sandbanks in the Mekong River in Nakon Phanom province, Thailand surface due to unusually low water levels in 2019.
Opinion

New Thai government must show more responsibility with the Mekong

Power production has been prioritized without consideration of area residents

29 August 2023
An excerpt from a video shows one of two activists, left, traveling with Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei, right, arguing with police near Thanaleng dry port in Laos on July 28.
Politics

China critics chased in Mekong as Beijing's security clout grows

Laos, others in region cooperating with neighbor to stifle Chinese dissidents

24 August 2023
Tourists use kayaks on the river in Vang Vieng, Laos, in July 2022.
Economy

Laos' tourism-driven economic recovery hinges on China

New cross-border railway brings in Chinese money, and concerns about influence

7 June 2023
Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith speaks at Nikkei's Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on May 26. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita) 
26 May 2023
Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith speaks during an interview in Tokyo on May 26. (Photo by Shinya Sawai) 
The Future of Asia 2023

High-speed rail to China a 'source of pride': Laos president

Southeast Asian nation's foreign debt is 'manageable,' Thongloun says

26 May 2023
A high-speed train on the China-Laos railway, which began cross-border passenger service on April 13. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Transportation

China-Laos railway begins cross-border passenger service

Countries see potential economic boost from Belt and Road project

13 April 2023
The city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand under a haze of air pollution on April 9. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Environment

Dirty air in Laos, Thailand casts pall over health, tourism

Southeast Asian nations now have world's worst particulate concentrations

12 April 2023