As senior officials from ASEAN member states and the bloc’s dialogue partners gathered in Manila for a series of high-level meetings over the weekend, Philippines Foreign Secretary Mr Alan Peter Cayetano sat down with journalists and editors from across the region for the inaugural ASEAN Media Forum. In a 45-minute conversation, Cayetano, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte in May, gave his perspective on a range of issues, including terrorism, combating illicit drugs and making progress on the South China Sea.
Farmers in southern Shan State who once profited from opium cultivation are now facing falling prices, rising production costs and labour shortages, but switching to alternative crops poses major challenges.
BY Frontier
