PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a column, Asean Today, that will cease when Phuketwan closes on December 31.



voanews.com Official media reports in Vietnam have used harsh words to attack Chinese analysts who reportedly said Beijing has ''historic sovereignty'' in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The controversial comments were made at an international conference on the South China Sea, which concluded in Vietnam's southern coastal city of Vung Tau.



reuters The United States has raised its military aid to the Philippines this year to $79 million, the US ambassador said, as tension rises in the region over China's new assertiveness in the South China Sea.



ft.com Microsoft has stepped into the minefield of business in post-military era Myanmar by striking a deal with a conglomerate whose founder has long battled claims of involvement in the drugs business.



afp Chinese fighter jets thunder through blue skies above an air force base in northeast Thailand, a symbol of the blossoming military and political ties between the junta-run country and its authoritarian northern neighbor.



bbc.com Singapore's conservative government has lifted a ban on 240 publications, ranging from communist material to adult content. Newly allowed books include the erotic English novel Fanny Hill, first published in 1748, and The Long March, a Chinese communist text.

channelnewsasia.com Two Malaysian men were arrested for trying to swim across the Causeway from Singapore, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said.



freemalaysiatoday.com Malaysia is getting another sovereign lifeline. State-owned China General Nuclear Power will buy the energy assets of troubled sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad for RM9.83 billion($2.3 billion). That is a big step towards solving 1MDB's debt troubles.



james.com Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and the Indonesian government signed an agreement on 22 November to formalise proposed investment and workshare arrangements to support the development of the Korean Fighter Experimental (KFX) 4.5-generation fighter aircraft.



cbsnews.com The little-known Cambodia International Film Festival is getting a star-powered boost this year from Angelina Jolie Pitt. The Hollywood star, in Cambodia filming her latest movie, will serve as president of the festival's honorary committee from December 4-10, organiers said.



theguardian.com Villagers are unanimous in saying that the greatest threat facing Namai now is natural disaster - in the form of cyclones, storms, floods and drought. Over the past 10 years, say village leaders, they have seen record floods, droughts and landslides, which have thrown their lives into turmoil.