Global Compact on Refugees is a good start, yet much remains to be done

On Christmas Day, a second Guatemalan child died in United States government custody while being detained after crossing the US-Mexico border. In Libya, rampant child abuse persists in 26 Britain-funded refugee detention centres which critics say have been created as a way for European countries to outsource their problem with asylum seekers in their borders…. Read More

Counterterrorism in Bangladesh: Lessons from a Multi-Stakeholder Approach

Syed Munir Khasru, Chairman, IPAG Abdullah Ar Rafee, Sr. Research Associate, IPAG   On July 1, 2016, Bangladesh was rocked to the core as a group of young militants stormed Holey Artisan Bakery, a posh café in a highly secured diplomatic zone in Dhaka, killing 20 hostages – 17 of whom were of foreign nationals…. Read More

The spectre of deportation

The outcome of the NRC exercise has implications for India’s ties with Bangladesh   The last date for filing claims and objections for Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been extended by the Supreme Court to December 31, from December 15. This exercise of compiling the NRC in the first place has sparked a debate… Read More

Asean’s cyber defences in need of more guards

Just weeks ago, the Marriott hotel group disclosed that it had been the victim of a massive data breach, with the loss of records on more than 500 million guests to hackers. Investigations are continuing and signs point to the breach being a state-sponsored operation. Whatever the outcome of the probe, the scale of the… Read More

Migration — the forgotten part of ASEAN integration

Time for Southeast Asian states to develop better rules and practices to protect migrants While leaders of ASEAN spoke eloquently about mutual trade and investment at their summit in Singapore this month, they had little to say about another key flow in the region — migration. Admittedly, they did express collective concern about the Rohingya… Read More

Pieces of the Asian dream

India should maximise its soft power in South, East and Southeast Asia even as it resets ties with China This has so far been the year of the India-China reset. From the informal Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping summit at Wuhan on April 27-28 to Prime Minister Modi’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1,… Read More

Southeast Asian fund can complement Chinese investment by boosting self-reliance

Thailand and allies right to cooperate despite the growing ties with Beijing The countries of Southeast Asia have rarely found it easy to cooperate, despite founding one of the world’s best-known regional clubs — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — over 50 years ago. With the members in very varied political and economic positions, they… Read More

The ASEAN embrace

India can act as a vital bridge between South and East Asia Prime Minister Narendra Modi used India’s Republic Day to host heads of state/government of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As India’s ‘Look East Policy’, matures into an ‘Act East Policy’, a strong relationship with ASEAN is no… Read More

Pushing Trump’s button: How Mueller’s investigation could prompt North Korea conflict

US President Donald Trump talks to the media at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on December 24. Trump’s recent message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the size of his “nuclear button” stirred concern throughout much of the world. Photo: AP While North Korean leader Kim Jong-un struck a conciliatory note in… Read More

Myanmar must accept the Rohingya Muslims as its own

An unprecedented 400,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25 to flee persecution and death in Myanmar. Bangladesh, itself densely populated and mired in rural poverty, is struggling to manage the massive influx. Most of the refugees are encamped in Cox’s Bazar, a resource-strapped district in southern Bangladesh. With the country already hosting tens… Read More

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