Asia

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s plan to return from exile in India could fuel renewed unrest and test Dhaka’s ability to maintain stability and pursue national reconciliation, analysts have warned. The prospect of her return has raised questions about how Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would handle a potential confrontation between supporters of Hasina’s Awami League and those who backed the student-led uprising that toppled her government in 2024. Tensions have intensified...

In a makeshift studio inside his public housing flat in Singapore, Shane Soh stands before his smartphone, running his fingers through a towel as he extols its softness to viewers watching his live stream. A ring light illuminates his face while more than a dozen other products sit on a shelf behind him, waiting for their moment on camera. “Don’t just buy one towel today, but get bedsheets as well. It’s perfect for Hari Raya or Christmas, and the thread count is 1,800 … It’s the best kind of...

Najib Razak, Malaysia’s corrupt former prime minister, may be back home to serve the rest of his prison sentence, but that does not mean he will be living in comfort with wife Rosmah Mansor and the rest of his family, a member of his party has confirmed. Najib returned to his house on Jalan Langgak Duta at about 9.30pm on Tuesday, after the High Court cleared the way for his release from jail. The start of his house arrest also marked the end of Anthony Loke’s stint as transport minister. Loke,...

Ukraine has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war, exposing Jakarta’s uphill battle to stop its citizens from being recruited to fight for Russia in the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion. The 49-year-old contract soldier from Java was captured in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region after entering Ukrainian-held territory following a drone strike on his Russian unit, The Guardian reported, citing Kyiv’s state-backed “I Want to Live” surrender initiative. According to the project,...

World leaders began arriving on Wednesday to start formal discussions at the United Nations climate change conference in Turkey, hoping to agree on concrete actions to curb global warming after a year of deadly floods, heatwaves and other climate-related disasters. But what can and will be accomplished at the 11-day Conference of the Parties, called Cop31, remains to be seen. Past talks have been criticised for making promises that later fell flat, and some big names are missing from this year’s...

China has overtaken South Korea in monthly orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for the first time, challenging its rival’s long-standing dominance in a high-value shipbuilding segment where demand is surging. The country secured five of the seven large LNG carrier orders placed worldwide in October, compared with just two won by South Korean shipbuilders, according to data from British shipping consultancy Clarksons Research. In the first 10 months of this year, Chinese shipyards...

In the space of just two months, India’s navy has held joint exercises off the coasts of Britain, France, South Africa, Oman, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Russia’s far east. Such a run of exercises signals a bid for a larger maritime role on the world stage, analysts say. Yet it also raises questions about whether a navy currently short on submarines and struggling to expand can support such global ambitions while also guarding India’s home waters. Since mid-September, over a span of...

Malaysia is seeking to reassure Taiwanese investors that it remains a reliable destination for hi-tech manufacturing after Taipei suspended bilateral investment talks over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks on China, raising concerns over the future of semiconductor investments in the Southeast Asian nation. Taiwan confirmed on Tuesday that it had paused negotiations scheduled for late October. The move came after Anwar told Al Jazeera in an August interview that he saw the self-governed...

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential political shake-up amid competing interests within his governing coalition. “Yes,” Budi Arie Setiadi, a political aide to Gibran and chairman of the pro-Jokowi organisation Projo, said in a text message to journalists confirming the resignation. Budi also confirmed that Gibran had handed his resignation letter to Prabowo at Halim Perdanakusuma...

The Philippine foreign affairs department’s rare rebuke of officials and agencies over anti-China rhetoric could signal Manila’s bid to rein in tensions ahead of the Asean summit next week – but also internal disagreements over strategy, according to analysts. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said public criticism of China could undermine diplomatic efforts. “In high-stakes diplomacy, a disciplined and coherent national voice remains essential to advancing our national...

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Wednesday that the cabin colour palette for its newly unveiled business class seats was “carefully selected” after the reveal drew criticism from some content creators and travel writers, including those who likened them to “dental chairs”. Much of the reaction has focused on the grey-and-yellow colour palette of the seats, which were developed by SIA in collaboration with seat manufacturer Recaro and creative design firm Designworks. An SIA spokesperson said the...

A mysterious, jellyfish-shaped light spotted in the skies over Sabah was from a Chinese rocket launch, not aliens, according to the Malaysian Space Agency. The glowing trail linked to the Long March 12 rocket, launched from southern China’s Hainan province in the early morning of Monday, sparked buzz and concerns over potential debris across the Borneo state. Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation said it received a report about the rocket’s sighting from MYSA. MYSA was also...

Japan is considering including a commitment to strengthening its “capabilities to deny” an adversary’s aggression in coordination with the United States in a major defence policy document to be revised later this year, government sources said on Tuesday. The basic guidelines for the National Defence Strategy will also call for expanded Japan-US cooperation to strengthen the defence industrial base and deeper security ties with like-minded countries, the sources said. The National Security...

Thousands of Indian soldiers who would otherwise have left the military after four years will now be kept on, in a major rethink of the controversial Agnipath recruitment model, as analysts say New Delhi is grappling with persistent manpower shortages and security concerns along its borders with China and Pakistan. Under revisions approved by the federal cabinet on November 4, the 75 per cent of Agnipath (“Path of Fire”) recruits previously set to leave after four years will receive a two-year...

China’s growing naval presence in the waters between Japan and South Korea could give the two neighbours a new incentive to overcome long-standing historical tensions and strengthen security cooperation, according to analysts. A reported sharp increase in Chinese warships and coastguard vessels passing through the strait that separates the two countries, some operating alongside Russian forces, has raised concerns about Beijing’s expanding maritime reach. The strait, which links the East China...

Prominent climate change activist Greta Thunberg arrived on Tuesday at the UN climate meeting, where she emphasised the need to protect people and the planet over profits and power. This year’s meeting – called the Conference of the Parties, or Cop31 – comes after a year of climate-induced heatwaves and other disasters. As she arrived at the meeting venue in Antalya, Turkey, Thunberg, 23, said climate change is “threatening everything” and that “everything and everyone we love is at stake”. “We...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration has been accused of trying to conceal Manila’s urban poverty by clearing street vendors and homeless people along key routes ahead of next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Antonio Tinio, deputy minority floor leader of the House of Representatives representing the ACT Teachers Party List, claimed on Monday that authorities had launched operations to displace poor communities across the capital to present a...

US President Donald Trump has conceded that his mass deportation drive may have been “too tough” after his Republican Party’s heavy losses in the midterm elections, but analysts doubt the remark signals a change of policy. Asian-Americans, who were among the communities heavily targeted in the immigration crackdown, swung sharply towards the Democrats on November 3. Trump made the comment in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes programme, recorded after the vote. Democrats won control of both...

Indonesia’s Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka offered to resign at a meeting on Tuesday with President Prabowo Subianto, a senior official said, as lawmakers consider an investigation into whether he was eligible to stand in the 2024 election. “The vice-president expressed his intention to resign in light of the evolving situation,” presidential spokesperson Prasetyo ‌Hadi told reporters. Prasetyo denied reports that Prabowo rejected Gibran’s request, but stopped short of saying the...

Four deaths in two helicopter crashes within five days have raised questions about the dangers facing those fighting Indonesia’s massive forest fires, prompting a government review on aerial firefighting efforts. But those dangers extend beyond the skies, with volunteer firefighters on the ground describing inadequate protective equipment, scarce water supplies and peatland fires that can suddenly erupt beneath their feet. On November 4, an Indonesian army Mi-17V5 transport helicopter carrying...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak arrived home on Tuesday, hours after the High Court cleared the way for him to start serving the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. Najib was driven in a silver SUV to his house in Kuala Lumpur’s affluent suburb of Taman Duta at 9.27pm, local news outlets reported. The car was escorted by several other vehicles from the Prison Department and the Royal Malaysian Police. His prison exit triggered Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s...

Indonesia is turning to China for a major expansion of solar power and energy storage, but a new report warns that a multibillion-dollar funding gap and demands for greater domestic control will complicate the plan as the country’s energy ties deepen. The report, published on Monday by the Jakarta-based Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), found that Chinese investment in Indonesia’s energy sector was expanding beyond nickel processing and electric-vehicle battery production, which had...

The killing of a Chinese food delivery rider in Melbourne has renewed safety concerns across the city just weeks ahead of the Victorian state election, where law and order is expected to be a key campaign battleground. Feng Jianming, a 47-year-old Chinese national from Shaanxi province, worked as a rider for HungryPanda – a UK-headquartered delivery platform catering to the Chinese diaspora across 10 countries, including Australia. Feng died of stab wounds last Friday night near Melbourne’s...

South Korea is facing growing concerns over the fallout from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy, amid fears that the scandal could disrupt global AI supply chains and trigger tighter US export controls on Seoul’s semiconductor champions. The highly publicised “bromance” between Huang and South Korea’s top technology leaders – notably Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won – has played a crucial...

Eurovision, the live song contest that has launched the likes of Abba, Celine Dion and Olivia Newton-John onto the world stage, is set to make its Asia debut in Bangkok this weekend, with a coterie of singers from South Korea and Bangladesh to Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Organisers of the 11-country contest are hoping to tap Asia’s thriving fan culture and love of music – and at the same time sidestep some of the gaffes and geopolitical controversies that have made the European event an...

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. Nvidia scandal, China chip claims put Singapore firm Megaspeed under scrutiny A little-known Singapore-registered company is embroiled in a mounting love scandal surrounding Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and US allegations of Chinese espionage. 2. Diploma dispute fuels...

Singapore on Tuesday launched a gold storage service for foreign central banks and other financial institutions, as it seeks to bolster its position as a major precious metals trading hub. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the facility, housed in the city state’s national currency vault, could store 500 tonnes of gold but could expand that as demand grows. The service will provide foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities “with a secure...

Flash floods during a Deepavali picnic in Malaysia have killed a man and left seven others missing, as authorities evacuated hundreds from flood-prone areas in Selangor and Perak states amid a strengthening monsoon season. The shifting monsoon winds also triggered a surge in thunderstorms across the country, helping clear out a months-long curtain of transboundary haze. Local officials said they found the body of the victim, identified as V. Vijayan, at around 1.30am on Tuesday at a bridge about...

Vietnam’s To Lam is expected to use his visit to Japan this week to expand trade and investment options with Tokyo, especially in technology, amid continued uncertainty surrounding America’s future policy direction. After talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Monday, the two leaders pledged to speed up public-private cooperation on critical minerals, with a joint statement calling economic security a top priority in bilateral relations and promising deeper cooperation on...

A Chinese man was referred to prosecutors on Monday for allegedly disrupting a major mobile carrier’s services in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district with a rogue cell tower device, with police investigating possible links to a phishing scheme using illegal radio signals. Yu Hai, 31, an unemployed resident of Tokyo’s Kita ward, was arrested on Saturday allegedly in the act of operating a base station without a licence, using the device from a car parked on a Ginza street to emit radio signals to...