PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a new column, Asean Today.



9news.com.au A senior Thai official says the influx of asylum seekers in Southeast Asia has reached an "alarming level" and is calling for governments to address the root causes of the crisis. Speaking at the opening of a regional meeting aimed at tackling the issue, Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn said that ''no country can solve this problem alone''.



independent.co.uk This week Burma agreed to attend a one-day international summit on the issue, held yesterday in Bangkok, on condition that there would be ''no finger-pointing''. Yet where else is the finger to be pointed?



bbc.com Ian Pannell and cameraman Darren Conway went to the camps on Malaysia's border, where many migrants were abused and killed.

Full story here http://goo.gl/NXjhci

bernama The action of a newspaper in a neighboring country which published a cartoon caricature insulting Malaysia is not acceptable, said Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

express.co.uk Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has not been found because search teams are ''inexperienced'' and equipment is ''inappropriate,'' experts have warned. The Australian-led search is already the most expensive in aviation history with no trace of the Boeing 777 or any of its 239 passengers and crew yet to be found.

nytimes.com Malaysia denied entry to a second political activist from Hong Kong on Friday, three days after the country's police chief said that he put the student protest leader Joshua Wong on a blacklist for fear of harming the country and hurting its ties with China.



thestar.com.my '''A total of 22 percent of Malaysian businesses with international ambitions last entered or are next planning to enter Indonesia, 15pc other Asia-Pacific countries, 15pc the Middle East or North Africa, and 11pc the United States,'' Grant Thornton Malaysia country managing partner Datuk NK Jasani said in a statement.



abc.net.au The Philippines says tension with China over disputed islands in the South China Sea is the country's most pressing security concern. China claims most of the islands in the South China Sea, putting it at odds with other claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam, which are backed by the US.

hngn.com US officials have reaffirmed their commitment to defending the Philippines from the ongoing territorial dispute with China over an island in the South China Sea.



rt.com The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam have signed a free trade zone agreement. It became the first international document on creating a free trade zone between the EEU and a third party. The prime ministers of Russia and Vietnam Dmitry Medvedev and Nguyen Tan Dunghave also signed an agreement for Vietnam to provide Russian investors and service distributors with the most favorable treatment.



straitstimes.com Defence chiefs from 26 nations are gathering here for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue amid worsening tensions over the South China Sea. This year's meeting has drawn strong interest even from Europe, with the French, Spanish and German defence ministers having confirmed their attendance at the meeting.

channelnews asia.com The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau says one Singaporean alleged match-fixer has been arrested, as well as possible co-conspirators. Some Timor Leste SEA Games footballers are assisting in investigations as well.



aseanbriefing.com Brunei has acknowledged the need to diversify its economy away from its current focus on oil and gas industries, particularly with the ASEAN Economic Community soon to be implemented.

xinhua Cambodia has saved another 199 Cambodian people, who were trafficked to work as illegal fishermen in Indonesia, Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Friday.