By Maiko Ichihara

East Asia Forum-Dec 18, 2021

South and Southeast Asia have experienced a sharp decline in liberal democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the pretext of combating COVID-19, the Philippines and Thailand have suppressed freedom of speech, while Indonesia has concentrated power in the hands of government. India has promoted a COVID-19 tracking application that violates personal privacy while the military coup in Myanmar subverted the democratic elections of November 2020. Read more at: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/12/18/commitment-to-democracy-must-remain-independent-of-geopolitics/