The Summit Bajao

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The Summit Bajao are a group of related sea dwelling inhabitants that live around the river of the South China Sea. They're spread along the coasts of Borneo at the Malaysian state of Saba there, the Sulu archipelago in the southern Philippines and the islands of eastern Indonesia. The striking thing about them today is that although they've plied the regions seas for centuries or for millennia, most aren't citizens of any country. Dominic Ziegler: How did this large group of people end up stateless?

At the start of this week, FTX was the world’s third-largest crypto exchange. After rumours of illiquidity swirled, customers pulled $6bn in assets. It now reportedly faces an $8bn shortfall, and the contagion is spreading. The Sama-Bajau have fished the same waters for centuries, but are citizens of nowhere, which makes their hard lives harder. And what Rishi Sunak can learn from his fictional predecessors. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer