Fracks in the System

Published on Feb 25, 2013 by Luke Hunt

From Luke Hunt ASIAWATCH — Impoverished countries hoping to strike it rich by developing their limited oil and gas reserves are being urged to move quickly or risk having their expectations clipped by fracking, which is depressing market prices while adding life to old fields once thought to be exhausted. The message is particularly potent in Southeast Asia, where most countries have at least some oil and gas potential and governments have raised electoral expectations over recent years that standards of living will rise on the back of resource development. Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia had intended to bolster their bottom lines through yet to be developed offshore oil and gas reserves. Brunei already has a world class....

Walking Wounded: Giles Duley

Published on Feb 24, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The public rarely sees the human cost of journalists covering war. More rarely still does it see the real civilian cost. That makes Walking Wounded a frank and refreshing insight into the world at either end of the lens. Siobhan Sinnerton’s remarkable film followed British photographer Giles Duley as he returned to Afghanistan after losing both legs and his left arm in an IED explosion two years ago this month while embedded there with the US Army’s 75th Cavalry Regiment. From Terry Friel in The Arts Desk. .

Pressure Mounts on Laos Over Missing Activist

Published on Feb 23, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Laos is facing mounting international pressure over the disappearance of civil rights worker Sombath Somphone last December. Some have called for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to intervene, with high level diplomatic efforts underway by the United States and Australia. Read more in The Diplomat. .

East Timor Risks All in Oil Dispute

Published on Feb 23, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — East Timor appears ready to roll the dice in its dispute with Woodside Petroleum over construction of a liquefied natural gas plant. If East Timor’s move backfires, it could potentially spoil its resource sharing agreements in the Timor Sea with Australia, redraw maritime boundaries and cast doubts over the ability of East Timor’s capital city of Dili to keep its word. Read more from The Diplomat. .

Old Hacks Survive

Published on Feb 17, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The thinning ranks of war correspondents who covered the Indochinese conflicts prior to the Communist takeovers of 1975 have rounded out a rare pilgrimage to Cambodia through a series of reunions and twin dedications to the fallen. Read more in The Phnom Penh Post. .