Asia

US President Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of a trade corridor connecting India to Europe via the Middle East has renewed focus on the three-year-old project, but analysts warn it must expand to withstand ongoing geopolitical conflicts. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was first unveiled at the G20 summit in 2023 as an alternative to existing routes and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Backed by India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel...

The Philippines is preparing to give its coastguard more responsibilities in the contested South China Sea even as the agency faces a more basic problem: whether it has enough ships, aircraft and personnel to carry them out. The proposed overhaul comes as the coastguard is being stretched by increasingly demanding operations around Philippine-claimed waters, while funding constraints threaten to limit its ability to keep its existing assets at sea. That tension is evident in the 2027 budget. The...

A 30-year-old man was charged on Tuesday over an AI-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir in Singapore that prompted authorities to search for the reptile and suspend water activities there. Ye Lin, a Myanmar national, was handed two charges – one count of communicating a false message and one count of obstructing the course of justice. Speaking through an interpreter, he told the court that he intended to plead guilty, and would not be engaging a lawyer. On August 20, Ye Lin...

For 28-year-old Indonesian professional Evelyn Clarissa Siregar, asking strangers to help fund her MBA in Singapore was a gamble: she knew the request was unconventional but hoped putting her dream out in public might open a door. Instead, her appeal for more than S$100,000 (US$78,000) to fund her business programme at Singapore Management University (SMU) drew fierce online criticism, with some labelling her entitled and questioning her plans. “I never expected the backlash to become this big,”...

South Korea’s defence minister said on Tuesday North Korean mines caused a blast last week that injured two South Korean personnel in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), adding that the incident violated the Korean war armistice agreement and warranted a response against Pyongyang. Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told a parliamentary committee that the mines were North Korean and appeared to have been planted in the area as part ⁠of North Korea’s border fortification work near the military demarcation...

As Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, was laid to rest on Monday, one poignant image stood out. Footage of her family members sobbing served as a reminder that before the 100-year-old was “Ibu Negara” (Mother of the Nation), she was first a mother of seven, grandmother to 18 and great-grandmother to four. Her latest great-grandchild, Eden Zakaria, was born just last month to granddaughter Meera Alyanna Mukhriz, better known as Ally. In a social...

The governor of an Indonesian prison has been suspended after authorities uncovered a suspected luxury compound for VIP inmates within the grounds, prompting a parliamentary inquiry. However, Director General of Corrections Mashudi denied the accusations during a House of Representatives commission hearing on Monday. Cibinong Prison in Bogor, West Java, came under investigation after inspectors from the Ombudsman’s office discovered a fenced-off compound behind the prison chief’s house during a...

The Philippines has 20,000 teaching vacancies to fill, a budget hearing has revealed, with sector insiders warning that the gap signals a mounting education crisis. Those in the industry are calling for transparency in the teacher hiring process, including clear figures on budget allocation and positions filled amid problems of mismatch and improper targeting of job applicants. At a House of Representatives plenary session last week, Antonio Tinio from the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)...

Behind the unmarked door of a shoplot along a quiet commercial stretch of Forest City in Malaysia’s Johor state, four customers sat tapping away, playing slot-style games on tablets. A stern-looking man stood guard at the entrance, his eyes darting around. The customers could place bets starting from around 20 ringgit (US$4.89). Instead of handing over cash, they paid for gambling credits using Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go e-wallet. They were then issued tablets from behind the counter with...

The number of Japanese companies operating in China has fallen nearly 30 per cent since its peak in 2012 and is down 22 per cent over the past two years, according to a survey conducted amid prolonged political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. As of June, 10,118 Japanese enterprises were identified as having a presence in China, the lowest number since 2010, according to a survey and analysis released on Monday by the corporate credit research and business intelligence firm Teikoku...

Malaysia began an operation to send nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals back to their war-torn homeland on Tuesday, pressing ahead with a government-to-government repatriation deal despite warnings that returnees could face persecution and forced conscription. The first group of 1,476 is part of an agreement to return 5,000 people held in Malaysian immigration facilities under a programme Kuala Lumpur describes as voluntary, though human rights groups say it lacks adequate safeguards. Those being...

Standing water ⁠in Thailand’s capital is expected ⁠to clear within three days if there is no additional rainfall, the government has said, as flag carrier Thai Airways struggled to resume regular services following heavy rain and flooding. The ‌cabinet would discuss long-term plans to address flooding and recovery measures on Tuesday, government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises told a news briefing on Tuesday. Bangkok was hit by around 320mm (12.6 inches) of rain over two to three days last week,...

Last year, Japan was flooding its rice market with emergency stockpiles in a bid to mollify voters angered by the soaring price of its staple grain. Now, it has the opposite problem: a glut. That is welcome news for shoppers, but the whiplash is hurting people like Hiroshi Asano, 59, who farms a relatively large 38 hectares (93 acres) of rice fields in Chiba, close to Tokyo. He expects to make a loss this year, and he is worried smaller-scale farmers would not be able to survive. “I’ve been...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Bangkok declares flood disaster across city as thousands flee from homes Entire Bangkok neighbourhoods were inundated on Saturday as the city government declared a flood disaster after the worst rains in years overwhelmed the Thai capital, submerging roads, cars and...

Travel companies in southern Japan are pinning their hopes on a business revival following a planned visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the areas hardest hit by a major earthquake this summer. The imperial couple, who were scheduled to meet communities in Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, postponed the trip due to poor weather. On Wednesday, they will speak with families currently living in temporary accommodation after losing their homes and businesses. The prefecture was at the...

The official opening of the Pinglu Canal on September 16 is a milestone in modern Chinese history. More than an infrastructural feat, it signals a strategic recalibration of how China’s inland economies connect with the sea and Southeast Asia, and augurs the next phase of regional growth. Designed for vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes, the 134.2km (83.4 mile) waterway stretches from the Xijin reservoir in Hengzhou, an emerging city in Guangxi, to the Gulf of Tonkin (known as the Beibu Gulf in...

Australian industrial property developer Goodman Group has withdrawn an application to develop a 24-hour data centre on Sydney’s north shore following public push back. Goodman said it would not proceed with its Project Mars development application after considering evolving federal and state policy and community feedback. Policy and regulation around large artificial intelligence data centres had “evolved significantly” since planning began in March 2025, the company said in a statement. The...

Japan risks being pulled into a spiral of online disinformation about foreign crime that is stoking xenophobia and playing into the hands of the far-right, researchers warn. The trend is reportedly deepening divisions within Japanese society and creating a feedback loop that experts say will be difficult to break. In August, Constella Security Japan, a Tokyo-based cybersecurity firm commissioned by the government to counter online disinformation, hosted a webinar for officials and media on fake...

A Thai man who zipped a jet ski across flooded Bangkok streets received a suspended jail sentence on Monday for causing a public nuisance after he used the capital – where tens of thousands of households remain submerged – as a backdrop for social media content. The stunt, widely shared on social media on Sunday evening, became a conduit for public anger over both the handling of the flood response and how climate calamities are experienced unevenly in the capital of one of Asia’s least equal...

India’s Supreme Court on ⁠Monday pushed for ⁠accountability over a recent spate of rape cases in the national capital and neighbouring districts, saying they reflected a “failure of law enforcement”, local media reported. Hundreds of students protested in Delhi last week demanding better safety for women after a teenager said she was gang-raped by three men at a city park. Protesters, most of them female, held placards and shouted slogans while marching near the crime scene. “Our body is our...

Migrant rights advocates have hailed the release of Filipino trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso after 16 years in detention as a victorious milestone, but warn that her case exposes the dangers that still confront many vulnerable workers overseas. After coming harrowingly close to being executed years ago in Indonesia, Veloso walked free on Friday night from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, grateful for the absolute pardon granted by Philippine President Ferdinand...

An escalating diplomatic row over Ukraine’s disclosure of a North Korean prisoner-of-war transfer is threatening to jeopardise South Korea’s future ties with and support for Kyiv, analysts say, even as it hands fresh ammunition to the political opposition in Seoul. South Korea’s presidential official issued a statement late on Sunday demanding an official explanation and apology for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disclosure about the POWs at last week’s UN General Assembly. Seoul said...

Tokyo on Monday rebuked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after he voiced opposition over the weekend to Japan’s drive for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, claiming the country was on a “path of militarisation”. Lavrov’s comments came as the security council, tasked with safeguarding peace, is facing calls for reform amid accusations it failed to prevent recent conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, due largely to the veto power of its five permanent members:...

Singaporean Najwa Alhabshi remembers spending her teenage years poring over literary classics such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and George Orwell’s 1984. The books introduced her to ideologies, philosophies and the American dream while expanding her vocabulary. But as work commitments grew, the pages of her books started yellowing. Finding time to read became harder, and her smartphone screen eventually took over. “I think I just fell out of reading,” the 35-year-old tutor said....

Six Singaporeans, including journalist Kirsten Han and Phua Chu Kang actors Lim Kay Siu and Neo Swee Lin, were charged on Monday with taking part in public assemblies. The assemblies were held in prohibited areas, with one held outside the State Courts in support of abolishing the death penalty, as well as candlelight vigils held outside Changi Prison for death row inmates. The six charged are Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 38, Ten Leu Jiun Jeanne-Marie, 56, Howe Wen Khong Rocky, 31, Kirsten Han,...

In the latest milestone for China’s heavy-duty gas turbine manufacturers, Shanghai Electric has secured a turnkey contract to deliver equipment to a power plant in Malaysia, giving it a foothold in a market dominated by established foreign players amid a global supply crunch. The state-owned conglomerate, based in the Chinese financial centre, hailed the deal reached earlier this month as evidence of the competitiveness of its integrated solutions and its capacity to design and manufacture...

Malaysia is pushing to take durian, whose powerful smell delights its lovers and repels its haters, beyond its roadside stalls and family orchards to convince fans of the spiky fruit that its varieties are worth seeking out. Devotees savour durians like wine. For Malaysian ones, the taste of their rich and creamy flesh varies widely across types. Some are prized for their sweet custard and fruity notes, others for a hint of bitterness, an alcohol tinge, or even a peanut butter...

Rescue teams on Monday searched for a dozen people swept away by an avalanche that killed at least four on a Nepalese mountain during severe weather. Rescuers from the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association, which is leading the efforts, said they recovered two more bodies on Monday in addition to two others who were found on Sunday. The tragedy happened at Mount Himlung, a 7,126-metre (23,380-foot) peak in north central Nepal. Twelve people were missing. Eight experienced mountain guides...

Malaysian police were set to begin questioning 10 former Negeri Sembilan state officials on Monday over a disputed bid to remove the state’s long-time ruler. It comes a week after Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir dismissed the 10 ex-members of the executive council, which serves as the state’s cabinet, for breaching their oaths of allegiance by backing his removal. Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, has been locked in a months-long struggle over its throne that helped bring down the previous...

Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday aged 100. Her family confirmed her death after she was admitted to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur. The cause of death was not immediately clear. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose decades-long feud with Mahathir defined modern Malaysia’s politics, said on Monday that Siti Hasmah would be granted a state funeral. “The nation will always remember her maternal presence and cherish...