Latest news with #Southeast Asia
France 24
3 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
Western aid cuts cede ground to China in Southeast Asia: study
The region is in an "uncertain moment", facing cuts in official development finance from the West as well as "especially punitive" US trade tariffs, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said. "Declining Western aid risks ceding a greater role to China, though other Asian donors will also gain in importance," it said. Total official development finance to Southeast Asia -- including grants, low-rate loans and other loans -- grew "modestly" to US$29 billion in 2023, the annual report said. But US President Donald Trump has since halted about US$60 billion in development assistance -- most of the United States' overseas aid programme. Seven European countries -- including France and Germany -- and the European Union have announced US$17.2 billion in aid cuts to be implemented between 2025 and 2029, it said. And the United Kingdom has said it is reducing annual aid by US$7.6 billion, redirecting government money towards defence. Based on recent announcements, overall official development finance to Southeast Asia will fall by more than US$2 billion by 2026, the study projected. "These cuts will hit Southeast Asia hard," it said. "Poorer countries and social sector priorities such as health, education, and civil society support that rely on bilateral aid funding are likely to lose out the most." Higher-income countries already capture most of the region's official development finance, said the institute's Southeast Asia Aid Map report. Poorer countries such as East Timor, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are being left behind, creating a deepening divide that could undermine long-term stability, equity and resilience, it warned. Despite substantial economic development across most of Southeast Asia, around 86 million people still live on less than US$3.65 a day, it said. 'Global concern' "The centre of gravity in Southeast Asia's development finance landscape looks set to drift East, notably to Beijing but also Tokyo and Seoul," the study said. As trade ties with the United States have weakened, Southeast Asian countries' development options could shrink, it said, leaving them with less leverage to negotiate favourable terms with Beijing. "China's relative importance as a development actor in the region will rise as Western development support recedes," it said. Beijing's development finance to the region rose by US$1.6 billion to US$4.9 billion in 2023 -- mostly through big infrastructure projects such as rail links in Indonesia and Malaysia, the report said. At the same time, China's infrastructure commitments to Southeast Asia surged fourfold to almost US$10 billion, largely due to the revival of the Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port project in Myanmar. By contrast, Western alternative infrastructure projects had failed to materialise in recent years, the study said. "Similarly, Western promises to support the region's clean energy transition have yet to translate into more projects on the ground -- of global concern given coal-dependent Southeast Asia is a major source of rapidly growing carbon emissions." © 2025 AFP
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
As trade deals show, the US now seeks rent from Asean, not partnership
US President Donald Trump's return to tariff diplomacy is on full display in Southeast Asia as he boasts of trade deals with first Vietnam , then Indonesia . The region faces some of the world's steepest US tariffs come August 1, and many countries have rushed into last-minute talks to avoid economic fallout. Advertisement Trump has announced a 19 per cent tariff on all Indonesian goods entering the United States under a deal, down from 32 per cent, with Indonesia agreeing in return to buy 50 Boeing jets and spend US$19.5 billion on US energy and farm products – essentially prepaying for tariff relief. This mirrors Vietnam's deal of a 20 per cent tariff, down from 46 per cent, by essentially agreeing to curb Chinese transshipments. Since Trump launched his global tariff war in April, introducing a baseline 10 per cent and threatening additional tariffs unless countries negotiated US trade deals, few countries have signed up. Other than Vietnam and Indonesia, only Britain has a deal. Others, such as the European Union, are readying retaliatory measures even as they continue to negotiate a deal. For Southeast Asia, these arrangements signal a shift in the US trade strategy – one that threatens to turn Asean members from competitive manufacturing hubs into 'fee for access' economies. Washington isn't offering real integration or mutually beneficial trade. Instead, it's monetising market access, demanding higher tariffs and mandatory purchases. This transactional model may score short-term wins for US negotiators, but it undermines the competitiveness and sovereignty of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, tying the region into a rent-seeking system rather than a strategic partnership. Advertisement For starters, US tariffs on most Asean exports have risen dramatically, with access to the American market monetised under the guise of 'deals'. Even goods from Vietnam and Indonesia, which used to face most-favoured nation tariffs of 9.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively on average, now attract more than double that.
CNN
5 hours ago
- Climate
- CNN
Boy survives Vietnam tourist boat sinking that killed dozens by sheltering in air pocket
A boy survived the sinking of a tourist boat in Vietnam which killed dozens of people by sheltering in an air pocket of the overturned vessel, it has emerged. The 10-year-old had been traveling with his family in Vietnam's famed Ha Long Bay when the vessel they were sailing on became caught in a sudden storm. Trapped in the boat as it capsized, the boy found refuge in an underwater air pocket, where he stayed and waited for help. He was eventually found by rescue teams relatively unharmed, although he was suffering from mental distress. He was warmed up and transferred to a nearby hospital, local outlet VietnamNet reported. 'Everything happened so fast,' the boy said. 'I tried to get out, and then the soldiers rescued me.' Search and rescue efforts are continuing for missing passengers and crew after sightseeing ship the Wonder Sea capsized in a squall on Saturday but have been hampered by bad weather. At least 37 people are confirmed dead from the sinking, state media reported, revising down an earlier toll but warning that it could still rise further. Vietnam News said there were 53 passengers and crew on board and 10 people had been rescued. Another survivor, a 36-year-old Vietnamese man, described escaping the overturned boat by dumping his life jacket and swimming through an underwater window. Fire extinguisher salesman Dang Anh Tuan described the moment the vessel suddenly capsized during bad weather, leaving little time for those on board to react. 'It rained for about 15 minutes, and then the boat started to shake vigorously, tables and chairs were jostled around and seconds later the boat overturned,' Tuan told the Associated Press. He said that the boat quickly filled with water and he lost all orientation. 'I tried to breathe. But more water came in. I took a deep breath, got rid of my life vest and dove down. I saw a streak of light and followed it to swim out, escaping the boat, and then I climbed on the overturned boat to look for help,' he said. Tuan, along with several others who had been on board, clung onto the overturned boat and waited for another two hours in pouring rain until emergency crews arrived. He'd been holidaying in Vietnam's popular tourist bay with 11 university friends. Only three of their group survived. VN Express reported that the Wonder Sea was caught in a storm around 1.30 p.m. local time (2.30 a.m. ET), which caused it to capsize. Most of the passengers were from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi and traveling as families, according to VN Express, which reported the eldest passenger as 53 years old and the youngest as just 3. Over 20 children were on board, VNExpress said. The capsize reportedly happened near the Dau Go Cave – one of the largest in the bay. Halong Bay is a popular tourist hotspot and a UNESCO world heritage site comprising about 1,600 limestone islands and islets. CNN's Eve Brennan, Max Saltman and TuAnh Dam contributed reporting.
CBC
6 hours ago
- Sport
- CBC
2025 World Aquatics Championships: Artistic Swimming Team Free Final
Watch the artistic swimming team free final from the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS At least 18 are dead as tourist boat carrying 53 capsizes in Vietnam
At least 18 people have died after a tourist boat carrying 53 passengers capsized in Vietnam.
