Management and Airline Tragedies

Published on Jan 11, 2015 by Luke Hunt

Pilots are a troubled lot. Too many are hand tied and frustrated by an industry that rewards those who play the game and ignores aviators whose sense of safety and old school rules might prove an obstacle to companies with an eye only for the bottom line.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

ASEAN Economic Community: What Could Go Wrong?

Published on Sep 14, 2014 by Luke Hunt

As the deadline for launching the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) nears, its critics are finding their voice. That voice is becoming louder and casting doubts over the readiness of the future trading bloc.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Indian Trade Seen Booming With ASEAN

Published on Aug 31, 2014 by Luke Hunt

ASEAN business ties extending west into India have never enjoyed the same cachet as trade with China to the north. That’s partly because access to India was blocked by Myanmar’s isolation and partly because a two-decade economic boom in China soaked-up as much capital as ASEAN investors could spare.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

ASEAN Urged to Act Decisively Ahead of AEC

Published on Aug 24, 2014 by Luke Hunt

The launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) could deliver substantial prosperity to poorer members of the trading bloc while promoting deeper regional integration, but the benefits could be uneven amid rising inequality unless governments act decisively, a key report has warned.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat ..

China Lets Its Oil Rigs Do the Talking

Published on Jun 29, 2014 by Luke Hunt

It passed with barely a word. A two-day meet in Bali this week was supposed to improve relations between China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was touted widely in the Chinese-friendly press but in the end not even the sycophantic scribes of Beijing had much to say.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Vietnam Frees Some Dissidents Amid TPP Trade Talks

Published on Apr 16, 2014 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Bowing to mounting international political pressure, and a cash-starved economy, Vietnam has announced the release of several dissidents ahead of negotiations with the United States over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Cambodia Leads Doubts Over AEC

Published on Apr 9, 2014 by Luke Hunt

In a rare moment of honesty a Cambodian official has admitted his doubts about his country’s ability to meet regional expectations in time for the launch of the much vaunted ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Malaysian Uni Lauds North Korean Economic Policy

Published on Nov 1, 2013 by Luke Hunt

A Malaysian university has doffed its cap to North Korea and awarded its latest dear leader, Kim Jong-un an honorary doctorate in economics. A simple ceremony was held earlier this month to confer the title, which raised more than a few eyebrows in academia and on the diplomatic circuit.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Indonesia Finally Moves on Fuel Subsidies

Published on Jun 21, 2013 by Luke Hunt

For years the Indonesian authorities have had to weigh the economic realities of providing fuel subsidies against the needs of its people, who have shown a readiness to protest – at times viciously – when prices become too high.However, after months of haggling, petrol and diesel prices are set to rise by an average of 33 percent amid a revised budget. The government hopes cash handouts for the poor will limit protests over an inevitable surge in the inflation rate.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

ASEAN's War on Drugs

Published on Jan 3, 2013 by Luke Hunt

The pledge by ASEAN leaders to intensify campaigns to create a drug-free ASEAN by 2015 is increasingly out of step with international trends which, according to the recent findings of The Global Commission on Drug Policy, increasingly favor drug policy reforms like decriminalization and treating addiction as a public health issue.From Tom Fawthrop in The Diplomat..