Top officials pose for a group photo at the 25th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, Saturday, July 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Top diplomats from Southeast Asia convened on July 27 in the Laotian capital with their powerful dialogue partners in the last of the three-day regional talks that have grappled with tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea, escalating fighting in Myanmar, and regional rivalry.

Meetings on July 27 will bring together in the same room allies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia — to bolster their relationships and discuss key security issues and other regional affairs.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived July 27 in Vientiane to meet with the ASEAN foreign ministers. He is also expected to meet on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as both countries are looking to expand their influence in the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also in Vientiane, and already held direct talks with Mr. Wang on July 25.

Participants in these meetings represent either critical U.S. allies and partners, and Washington’s two largest rivals, Moscow and Beijing, who have grown closer over the past two years, prompting deep concerns about their combined global influence.

Indonesia said it emphasized in their opening meetings on Thursday that it’s important the bloc doesn’t get drawn in as both China and the U.S. look to expand their influence in the region.

Focus on the South China Sea

Among other issues, Mr. Blinken will discuss economic cooperation, the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and territorial disputes in the South China Sea during his trip to Vientiane, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have conflicts with China over its claim of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most crucial waterways for shipping. Many worry that direct confrontations there could lead to broader conflict. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing’s encroachment on its exclusive economic zone.

The United States and its allies, meanwhile, have regularly conducted military exercises and patrols in the area to assert their “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, including the right to navigate in international waters, drawing criticism from China.

There are divisions within ASEAN on how to deal with China’s maritime claims. The Philippines has been critical over a perceived lack of support from the bloc, but in a rare deal, China and the Philippines said they had reached an agreement that they hope will end their confrontations, aiming to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement for the disputed area without conceding each other’s territorial claims.

Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo said after the gala dinner on Friday that he had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Wang, where they agreed that they would “honour the provisional agreement in a clear and sincere effort to defuse tensions and try and prevent any incidents of course from leading to further tension in our relationship.”

Addressing the crisis in Myanmar

The increasingly violent civil war in ASEAN member state Myanmar is one of the other issues dominating talks. Thailand has said the group gave their support for it to take a broader role as one of Myanmar’s immediate neighbors.

Nikorndej Balankura, spokesperson of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on July 26 that more dialogue mechanisms have been proposed to include more stakeholders, especially countries that share borders with Myanmar.

He, however, noted that those proposals have just been submitted to Laos, which currently chairs ASEAN and is in charge of recommending them directly to Myanmar to seek its approval.

The army in Myanmar ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule, leading to increasing violence and a humanitarian crisis.

ASEAN has been pushing a “five-point consensus” for peace, but the military leadership in Myanmar has so far ignored the plan, raising questions about the bloc’s efficiency and credibility. The peace plan calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels, and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties.

A picture showing Vorawan “Beaut” Ramwan and Anticha “An” Sangchai wearing wedding dresses in a Pride parade is seen at their house during an interview with Reuters. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Thailand’s Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on June 18 , paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples.

The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament.

With the support of nearly all lawmakers in the Upper House, the law next needs royal approval. It will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette.

LGBT advocates called the move a “monumental step forward,” as Thailand would be the first nation in Southeast Asia to enact marriage equality legislation and the third territory in Asia, after Nepal and Taiwan.

“We are very proud to make history,” said Plaifah Kyoka Shodladd, member of a parliamentary committee on same-sex marriage.

“Today love triumphed prejudice,after fighting for more than 20 years, today we can say that this country has marriage equality.”

Lawmakers and activists were seen celebrating in Thailand’s parliament, waving rainbow flags and smiling, with some raising their fists in solidarity with the LGBT community.

Thailand, one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations, is already known for its vibrant LGBT culture and tolerance.

At the start of June, thousands of revellers and activists paraded through the streets of Bangkok and were joined by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who wore a rainbow shirt to celebrate Pride Month.

“This would underscore Thailand’s leadership in the region in promoting human rights and gender equality,” the Civil Society Commission of marriage equality, activists and LGBTQI couples said in a statement.

China promised billions of dollars to infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia, but many of these were never built, according to a study by an Australian think tank released on March 27.

Sydney’s Lowy Institute found that since 2015, more than $50 billion that Beijing promised to development projects in the region was unallocated.

More than half the projects were either cancelled, reduced in scale or unlikely to proceed.

Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has ploughed billions into Southeast Asia — and other regions — in a bid to expand its economic and political power.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the landmark initiative promotes global economic growth and pledged to use it to achieve “the modernisation of every country in the world”.

But the Lowy Institute’s Alexandre Dayant and Grace Stanhope said political instability, poor engagement with local stakeholders, and a declining interest in fossil fuel projects have hampered China’s plans in Southeast Asia.

The pair found that China has significantly reduced its investment in Southeast Asia in recent years and moved towards funding smaller projects.

Still, China remains the largest infrastructure partner in Southeast Asia — involved in 24 of the region’s 34 megaprojects.

Of those 24 projects, there has been a 33% completion rate, the study found.

Bat populations in many Indian States harbour serological evidence of exposure to Nipah virus,” the Nature article points out. 
| Photo Credit: CraigRJD

Many places in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, southern China, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and some Indian States, have Nipah virus reservoirs and could experience cross-species transmission to humans, says an article published in the recent issue of Nature journal.

The article in the ‘World view’ section, titled ‘a personal take on science and society’, is authored by T.S. Anish, one of the leaders of the Nipah surveillance team in Kerala, and epidemiology professor at Government Medical College, Manjeri, Malappuram.

Based on his experience during the 2018 and 2023 outbreaks in the State, Dr. Anish calls for more scientific and policy work on the infection.

As a key first step, all countries likely to have Nipah virus reservoirs should have early detection systems. “The strain in Kerala’s outbreaks originated from Bangladesh in 2001. Health systems have missed this strain because its mortality rate is so high that it often causes small outbreaks or single cases,” he says.

“To reach Kerala, the virus must have spread undetected over more than 2,000 km, from Bangladesh or the neighbouring Indian State of West Bengal. It is highly probable that many places in Southeast Asia have Nipah virus reservoirs and could experience spillovers. Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, southern China, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and many Indian States all lie in a similar distance from Bangladesh and are home to fruit bats. Bat populations in many Indian States harbour serological evidence of exposure to Nipah virus,” the article points out.

Dr. Anish says that lack of treatment options for Nipah is a concern as drug trials are difficult because outbreaks typically last for only a few days. “Kerala’s experience is that using antivirals not specific to Nipah might have helped some people infected near the end of the outbreaks in 2018 and 2023. More research is needed, as is wider distribution of general antivirals,” he says.

The development of monoclonal antibodies from Nipah survivors in Kerala is also a priority. These will be specific to the local variant and could be given to people with early symptoms and to high-risk contacts, such as frontline healthcare workers, to save lives. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh, is already studying about 50 survivors of Nipah.

According to Gavi, the vaccine alliance, several candidate vaccines for Nipah are in clinical trials, including one based on messenger RNA, one based on a viral vector, and one containing the protein subunit of Hendra virus, which closely resembles Nipah.

Because Nipah is an RNA virus that is prone to mutate, studying the virological factors contributing to severity is important for monitoring its pandemic potential. It is also crucial to study variation in immunological mechanisms known to affect people’s susceptibility to Nipah, the article adds.