Chinese carmakers are ramping up production in Myanmar as they go head to head with dominant and entrenched Japanese rivals in the fast-growing market.

The World Bank has approved $50 million in emergency financing to help Myanmar improve its hospital system to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Citizens across the South-East Asia region have consistently resorted to online shopping practices in the last few months but, according to some studies, dissatisfaction with delays and lack of communication would be high.

With China–US tensions and geopolitical turbulence increasing, many in the Asia-Pacific have looked at how ASEAN would respond to remain united, central and relevant. The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) report is a response to the rising contention between great powers as well as a lens for ASEAN’s future priorities.

No country in Southeast Asia will be immune to the tough economic and health impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It will be crucial to be prepared for the worst.

The Japanese government has unveiled a $2.4 billion fund to finance local companies that move their manufacturing production from China to Japan or Southeast Asia.

South China's Guangdong Province saw its trade with ASEAN countries grow by 7.7% year on year in the first quarter, while its total foreign trade volume dropped due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The ASEAN became Guangdong's biggest trade partner in the quarter, with trade volume accounting for 16 percent of the province's total commerce.

Growth in Myanmar is expected to pick up to 6.4 percent in fiscal 2019-20 from 6.3pc in 2018-19 and 6.2 pc in 2017-18 as a result of the increasing government spending and private investments on infrastructure, transportation and communication, according to the World Bank. According to the report, growth will be supported by a higher volume of government infrastructure projects in transportation and communication. A larger flow of foreign direct investments in construction is also expected to boost growth.

The Mandalay Region Investment Committee has endorsed 79 foreign projects from more than 16 countries since its establishment up until December, 2019, drawing almost US$4 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI), U Thant Sin Lwin, Director-General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) told state media. The investments flowed mostly into manufacturing, power, and services sectors.

Myanmar is gearing up for elections this year. The general election, tentatively scheduled for some time in November, will essentially pit Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) against the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the country’s two major political parties.

China imported 10.8 million tonnes of crude oil via the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline in 2019, up 6.3 percent year on year, according to the Kunming Customs in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Kunming Customs said Tuesday that the import value amounted to 37.7 billion yuan (about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 3.9 percent.

The International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court, will issue a decision on a request for emergency measures in a genocide case against Myanmar on Jan. 23. The mainly Muslim west African country filed the suit in November, alleging Myanmar was committing “an ongoing genocide” against its minority Muslim Rohingya population.

Former Singapore foreign affairs minister George Yeo believes Vietnam, as Asean chair, needs to bring calm to the South China Sea dispute. Asean countries should remain neutral amid the US-China trade war and seize opportunities from their decoupling.

The United Kingdom's minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler, opens the UK Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. She was accompanied by UK Ambassador to Indonesia Owen Jenkins and UK Ambassador to ASEAN Jon Lambe. The United Kingdom has expressed hope of attending future ASEAN meetings as the country doubles down on its ambition to be a dialogue partner with the Southeast Asian grouping after Brexit.

Southeast Asia is an arena for great power competition, in which Southeast Asians are not adequately respected or appreciated. U.S.-China competition has deepened this trend in recent years, as Southeast Asian countries are being asked to choose sides.

China's trade volume with ASEAN climbed 14.1 percent to 4.43 trillion yuan (about $642.7 billion) last year. The European Union remained China's biggest trading partner with an 8-percent year-on-year growth to 4.86 trillion yuan in bilateral trade, while the United States ranked third with a 10.7-percent fall over 2018 to 3.73 trillion yuan.