Typhoon batters Philippines, Vietnam

Hello friends!

It’s been a while since I’ve opened up a premium to the full reader list, but since this month has been such a nightmare sticking to schedule now’s a good time to do so!

I think what we’ve got here is the seeds of some big stories in coming weeks and months. Personally, I’ll be keeping watch on Myanmar’s election and the aftermath from next week, the fall-out from Mahathir Mohamad’s France comments as well as the response of Brunei and Indonesia to the wider context and, of course, anything and everything Thailand.

We’ve got a fantastic weekend read from Laos coming through tomorrow and then we’ll catch up on Myanmar’s election season next week.

Asean and Timorese nationals under 30 are all eligible for a free premium membership, just hit that reply button. For everyone else it’s $6 a month or $60 for the year:

Also, I don’t think I mentioned this but thanks everyone who hit the heart on a piece I sent a few weeks back. My most liked newsletter is now a relatively obscure one on the Philippines House of Reps and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you, everyone!

Stay safe out thereErin Cook

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A small demonstration against Chinese development in Cambodia has led to clashes between protestors and city security guards, Reuters reports. The demo last Friday near the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh was reportedly part of a larger movement in opposition to the forced dissolution of Cambodia National Rescue Party. This is very interesting to me. We’ve talked a lot in recent years about the deepening relationship between the two countries and this event is one of few I can think of where it has been directly challenged by Cambodians amid the ever-increasingly tight security situation.

Huge rains have brought flooding to much of the Mekong area, including in Cambodia where at least 40 people have died. The unfolding disaster — which is expected to worsen in coming years — has been blamed on deliberate environmental destruction led by the central government. Get off it, says Prime Minister Hun Sen, it’s all a ‘natural’ part of the monsoon season. Not quite. Nikkei Asia has more and it’s a must for our environmental and development minded readers.

A joint effort between the Cambodian and US governments will train 2,000 soldiers to get rid of the remaining UXO dotting the country within the next five years. An interesting par in this VOA piece notes that with the textile industry stressed by the EU business and tourism virtually dead thanks to COVID-19 an uptick in rice cultivation and farming may see more Cambodians in danger spots than previously. Good luck, Cambodia! Won’t that be an amazing feat?

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You would’ve been hard-pressed to miss this one from the FT, which reports the close cultural links between Thailand and Laos has seen the minnow inspired by protests in Bangkok. “If Lao politics was good” trended on social media earlier in the month as protests dominated Thai media, widely consumed in Laos. One user who claimed Laos as her country wrote she wants ‘“Laos to be a democratic country and more democracy than today” because Lao people had no “freedom of expression to guide the country and improve their quality of life”’ as reported by FT.

This will be an interesting one. As we know, Laos is near impossible to get news from but the combination of social media and an empowered youth-led movement ooh, who knows. Can’t forecast anything these days, but this is captivating so we’ll keep a close watch!

Some borders — both official and customary — between Laos and China will be reopened in a bid to get trade moving again and kickstart the economy following the pandemic shutdown. Elsewhere, the World Bank has approved a $40 million loan for small and medium-sized enterprises in the country.

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Huge story in Vietnam where millions are being evacuated as typhoon Molave threatens to make landfall. The typhoon smashed the Philippines in recent days. “This is a very strong typhoon that will impact a large area,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned, as reported by Reuters.

Michael Nguyen, an American national whose case we discussed quite a bit last year following his arrest, has been released from detention in Vietnam and deported back to the US. “We welcome his release on humanitarian grounds. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we don’t have anything else to share.” the US embassy in Hanoi says. Nguyen was one of the more high profile convictions amid a slew of arrests alleging plots to overthrow the Vietnamese government.

Bloomberg has a closer look at what it means for Vietnam to see manufacturing dip out of China for across the border. “Life is heaven now and it’s thanks to the factories,” says 64-year-old Nguyen Van Lanh whose family runs a now-booming boarder house for workers built with the family’s factory savings.

Check-in with Mike Tatarski and his Vietnam Weekly here, where he takes a look at the state of US-Vietnam business relations ahead of the Pompeo visit. Subscribe because it’s brilliant and also sounds like he’ll need the beer money come Wednesday.

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We won’t venture near elections today and instead, take a deeper look next week ahead of the November 8 vote.

Here’s a devastating one on the options women are forced to weigh up as the economy struggles under the pandemic. Sex work is booming, but it’s dangerous and undesirable work for many women who say they fear abuse and ostracisation.

Food insecurity is setting in after the capital’s second lockdown. When Ma Suu had nothing left to sell, her husband headed to Yangon’s drains to hunt rats to feed their family.

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Thailand is another biggie lately (constantly?) so let’s take another look next week with where we’re at. I’ve missed a bit! Media shutdowns! Ousted MPs! Prayuth digging in his heels!

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Catch up on Malaysia with the newsletter sent earlier this week. Oh, also Mahathir Mohamad needs to get off Twitter and has probably just pissed off the entire EU.

Mahathir running his mouth about race and religion has long been a feature, but something about this stinks particularly. Maybe it’s that we still didn’t know the exact death toll in Nice as he posted and/or the incitement of violence that makes it especially rank. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this turn into a diplomatic incident and/or prompt some very thoughtful pieces on the seeming inevitability of extremism when it comes to Malay First pandering. Yuck.

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Is anyone else badgering the postman for their copy of PAP vs PAP? Probably not NUS alumni who have booted the writers, academics Cherian George and Donald Low, from a webinar event called (seriously, you can’t make this up) “Public Discourse: Truth and Trust.” The event hosts are a group tied to the NUS' Raffles Hall residences alumni who have surely bitten off more than they intended. At least one presenter who had been called in to replace the pair has since withdrawn once events came to light.

Singapore’s endeavour to take its COVID-19 new normal digital has been overwhelmed with demand. QR codes will soon be replaced in eateries and stores across the island with the TraceTogether token, prompting a run on staff and a new plan to roll them out by area.

This one from Reuters on the descendants of the Sultan Hussein Shah, who signed treaties with Colonial Britain, who live and work in Singapore today is an absolute stunner. Also, this from Bloomberg chatting about the relationship between Singapore and Malaysia, specifically Johor, is very interesting.

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The Philippines has been battered by typhoon Molave along the south of Luzon, with nearly 9,000 people evacuated. It then came back for a second landfall before heading toward Vietnam.

Ambassador Marichu Mauro, based in Brazil, has been ordered home by Teddy Boy Locsin over horrendous allegations (complete with video) of her having abused her Pinoy domestic staff. This is a nasty one no matter what but takes on an extra level when so much of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ resources are dedicated to protecting the rights of the millions of Filipino workers abroad and here’s their representative in Brasilia allegedly pulling a worker around by their hair and ear.

“The DFA is reaching out to her to ensure her well-being and cooperation in the investigation,” the department says of the unidentified worker, who has since returned to the Philippines.

Years after the liberation of Marawi City, rehabilitation has been slow and life is nowhere close to normal. The Bangsamoro government on Monday launched its own rehab program it hopes will get the ball moving much faster.

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A mysterious one from Brunei. HRH Prince Haji ‘Abdul ‘Azim has died at 38. The cause of death of the Sultan’s second eldest son is yet to be released, with the palace releasing a short statement. Brunei is still honouring the seven-day mourning period after the prince was buried in Bandar Seri Begawan on Saturday.

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Could tourism be the saviour of the Timorese economy? As someone who has been gagging to get there, yes. But it’s more complicated than that — and that’s before we even get to COVID-19.

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Indonesia hasn’t quite gone the route of Mahathir Mohamad, but it’s not happy about France either. Islamic groups — the usual suspects like PA 212 and FPI — have condemned France and President Macron for singling out the religion as an extremist threat to the world. “Right now, the most spontaneous response would be to boycott French products and demand stern action from the French ambassador to Indonesia,” PA 212 spokesman Novel Bamukmin said, as reported by Coconuts.

Wait a second, let’s all calm down a bit, the country’s major groups say not just to Indonesia but the Islamic world. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) secretary-general Yahya Staquf called for reason. “Humiliating the honour of the Prophet Mohammed is considered an insult to Islam. However, responding to the insult to the Prophet by killing the perpetrator is a savage act that has the potential to trigger widespread instability without control,” he said, as reported by SCMP.

Ahead of Pompeo’s trip around the place, Reuters reported a staggering piece that the US had tried to strike a deal in which US spy planes could refuel in Indonesian territory. When compared to China’s wheeling and dealing in the region this year — largely revolving around potential COVID-19 vaccines — it’s a no brainer one unnamed government official says. “The US uses sanctions and muscle too much. China is smart. It always uses the soft power approach, the economic approach, the development approach,” the official said.

These ‘who will win in Southeast Asia’ conversations are looking more and more useless, kan? Maybe we’ll wait for next week.