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Thailand says the quiet part out loud: Vice Foreign Minister admits that Uighur deportation was to prevent retaliation that would "would impact the livelihoods of many Thais" straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/t…

RFA does amazing reporting in the most difficult conditions in this region - especially Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. We rely on them a lot - this is a real blow to us, to transparency accountability in Asia, to keeping people informed about what’s really going on. Very sad.

China is widely assumed to be the big soft power beneficiary of US aid cuts—but to date, no estimates quantify the impact. My latest analysis shows the cuts restoring China as the world’s largest bilateral aid partner, surpassing the US in 40+ countries. lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete…

For some reason people are insisting I add this to the thread 11/

Great new paper by Alexandre Dayant & Grace Stanhope (@gracestanhope.bsky.social). They warn if Western donors continue cutting development budgets, SE Asia’s ability to shape its aid relationship with China could be seriously at risk. Good to see Australia, for one, holding the line. lowyinstitute.org/publications/h…

Interesting article by Grace Stanhope (@gracestanhope.bsky.social) and Alexandre Dayant, drawing on their important new The Lowy Institute Analysis paper.

Australian aid budget in a holding pattern, aiming for stability while reprioritising at the margin Roland Rajah The Lowy Institute lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete…

Australia will provide an initial $2 million in lifesaving humanitarian assistance to support the people of Myanmar in response to the devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit Mandalay and surrounding communities. Support will be provided through ICRC, a trusted partner.

🧵An ongoing thread of satellite-detected damage from the Burmese earthquake, starting with @Planet's SkySat products from Mandalay. This shows the Sky Villa apartment complex, showing the building having split into 4 and collapsing.

This is a beautiful and fitting tribute to the fierce and fabulous journalist Gwen Robinson. Gwen was a force of nature, an excellent editor and deeply cared about issues across Asia, especially Myanmar. RIP - we will miss you, Gwen. asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Obit… via Nikkei Asia

Gwen Robinson, a driving force in Asia journalism, dies at 65 asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Obit… via Nikkei Asia

"It is a characteristic of Myanmar’s military to have forgotten nothing, but likewise never to learn." Bravo Sean Turnell lowyinstitute.org/the-interprete…

"These are not normal times, and delivering aid through conventional mechanisms will not work." asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myan…

An enormous loss. BenarNews benarnews.org/english/news/p…

Targeting of Cambodia and Vietnam based on... nothing much, as it turns out

Australia’s Labor gvt just won big, but what does that mean for foreign policy? Expect + aid to Southeast Asia & Pacific, + blended finance & COP31 bid with #Pacific. But no big budget bump, and a narrowing global focus. By Grace Stanhope (@gracestanhope.bsky.social) The Lowy Institute thediplomat.com/2025/05/what-c…

Support for Australia's bid to host the UN's annual climate summit was a rare foreign policy split between the two parties in the federal election. In The Diplomat, the The Lowy Institute's Grace Stanhope (@gracestanhope.bsky.social) writes that it may be a defining policy for the PM. thediplomat.com/2025/05/what-c…

I wrote for Project Syndicate on Brazil's plans to launch a new climate fund at COP30 - just as wealthy countries cut aid and climate finance becomes more scarce. Now is the time to fix a fragmented, inefficient climate finance system, not add to its complexity. shorturl.at/GgbsH

Cambodian authorities have arrested Ouk Mao, an environmental journalist who recently exposed a land grab by a “politically connected” mining company in northern Cambodia. buff.ly/kPOSmnr

The story of China’s development finance in Southeast Asia is shifting, marked not by growing dominance, but by recalibration, caution and quiet resistance, write Alexandre Dayant & Grace Stanhope (@gracestanhope.bsky.social) in the The Straits Times. straitstimes.com/opinion/how-wi…