Asia

Elon Musk’s accusation that powerful Indian business interests are blocking Starlink’s entry into India has sparked a political row, but analysts say the dispute also highlights security concerns, regulatory hurdles and strategic calculations shaping the satellite service’s expansion across Asia. In a post on social media, Musk said Starlink was licensed in more than 165 countries and had spent five years complying with Indian laws and regulations. “So why still no licence? Is Ambani the real...

Malaysia plans to spend 460 billion ringgit (US$112.6 billion) under its 2027 budget, expanding welfare assistance and tax relief while retaining fuel subsidies as households contend with higher living costs. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, presented the spending plan in parliament on Friday as his government faces pressure for an early election following a series of state poll defeats. Anwar said the budget should be judged on “whether more people can live with...

The Philippines is developing a national road map to combat child labour as part of a broader push across Southeast Asia, where poverty and insecure livelihoods continue to drive children into work despite government efforts to stamp out the practice. But analysts warn that policy commitments alone will not be enough without stronger support for vulnerable families, better access to education and more effective enforcement of child protection laws. On September 23 and 24, government officials,...

As Russian President Vladimir Putin watched the final stage of the massive Tsentr-2026 military exercise in the Urals recently, Chinese troops were training alongside forces from Russia, Belarus and other countries. More than 47,000 military personnel joined the exercise, which incorporated lessons from the war in Ukraine. The symbolism extends beyond Chelyabinsk. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Chinese military exercises with Belarus – and now China’s participation alongside Russian and...

Grace often hears other Singapore mothers debating how much private tuition their children need. Some rush to enrol their offspring in multiple classes before they turn five, while others try to resist the pressure to add lessons outside school. She enrolled her two children, now aged four and seven, in Chinese tuition when they were three to give them greater exposure to their ancestral tongue. “Neither of their parents speaks fluent Mandarin at home … I guess there is some degree of pressure...

Malaysia’s government will boost spending on social welfare while maintaining subsidies to rein in the cost of living under its 2027 Budget unveiled on Friday, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seeks to shore up public support while under pressure to call for an early general election. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) has suffered bruising defeats in a series of state elections since December, as voters expressed disapproval of his administration’s failure to deliver on promises of reforms, which had...

A senior Japanese government spokesperson said it was regrettable that the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office had requested that Dutch authorities extradite International Criminal Court president Tomoko Akane and eight other officials. “Time and again we have conveyed to the Russian side that measures targeting individuals connected to the ICC are unfair and unacceptable. We find it regrettable that the Russian side has nevertheless requested various nations to extradite these individuals,”...

Two years after the Philippines banned its notorious offshore gaming hubs, or Pogos, a recent crackdown on hundreds of foreigners has highlighted a worrying trend of embedded corruption that still enables the sector to thrive. In September, the National Bureau of Investigation raided a call centre-style facility in Makati City, arresting more than 120 Chinese nationals linked to an alleged illegal trading and “lust scam” that tricked local and foreign victims into sharing explicit videos, which...

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is standing by its decision to screen South Korean political thriller The Assassin(s) as its opening film, despite calls from South Korea’s conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP) to withdraw it over allegations of historical distortion. The film, directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, has drawn criticism in South Korea over its fictionalised portrayal of a real-life 1974 assassination attempt on...

A boy and his sister lost their lives in a road accident after they wanted to attend classes despite their school being closed due to the haze in Malaysia’s Johor state. Their elder brother, who took them on his motorcycle to check out the school for themselves, was killed as well. The three siblings – Nordaniel Aiman Norlizan, 18, Nordaniel Fikri Norlizan, 11, and Puteri Naufa Raisha Norlizan, eight – were found by their grandfather, lying motionless at the scene of the accident in...

A decade after the shutdown of Soranet – a sprawling online hub for secretly filmed and non-consensual sexual videos that became a symbol of South Korea’s digital sex-crime crisis – the country is still struggling to stamp out similar networks and copycat sites that have emerged in its wake. Their prevalence reflects the difficulties of deterring such illegal activities, policing the online space and changing societal attitudes towards women. Last month, a man was detained over an alleged...

Educational and cultural exchanges have become a new casualty of rising tensions between the Philippines and China. About 150 Chinese teachers have left the Philippines months after Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr renewed warnings that such people-to-people ties could pose security concerns. Families of volunteer instructors have expressed safety concerns. Beyond disrupting classes and potentially harming tourism in the Philippines, this could further narrow interaction between the two...

South Korea flight-tested on Thursday its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defence systems, bringing Seoul closer to what it says could be game-changing weapons capabilities. There was no immediate response from North Korea, which last week tested its own hypersonic missile that landed in the waters near Japan. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attended the test, saying it was a major step in strengthening...

A Philippine bill expanding the country’s espionage law to cover peacetime activities is raising concerns among journalists and legal experts, who warn that its broad provisions could stifle free expression and restrict public scrutiny of national issues. The House of Representatives approved the measure on September 17, paving the way for a broader definition of espionage than under the current law, which dates to 1941 and focuses on wartime spying. The Senate is considering a similar...

A second visit by one of the top US naval officers to India this year has raised expectations that the two countries can insulate their growing military ties from trade tensions. US Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, who leads the US Pacific Command, is scheduled to leave India on Thursday after spending six days meeting with senior Indian defence officials and others. The talks, which follow Paparo’s visit to India in February, come as Washington weighs further tariff pressure on India over its...

The Philippines is “resigned” to managing its long-standing dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea and avoiding dangerous escalations, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday. At the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore, Marcos said: “I don’t know if we can find a resolution to the problem, but we are resigned to just being able to manage the problem, so that we do not have mistakes, we do not have misinterpretations. “My greatest fear is that some seaman, some soldier, just...

South Korea said on Thursday it would recall its ambassador to Ukraine in response to a deepening diplomatic row over the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul. The two countries have been at loggerheads since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month disclosed the prisoner transfer, sparking anger in Seoul, which said it had placed their families in North Korea at risk. The recall also comes days after a media report alleged more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel,...

Fast Retailing, the parent company of Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, has defied the ongoing political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo and soft consumer sentiment in China to log a rebound in sales and profits on the Chinese mainland. The Japanese firm said the 2026 financial year, which ended in August, had been a period in which its mainland China business had “made steady progress, with encouraging steps indicating a return to growth”, according to its annual report released on...

US President Donald Trump pressed Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during last month’s summit to end a deep freeze in relations with Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, the South China Morning Post reported. Trump raised Japan’s grievances over Chinese restrictions imposed following Takaichi’s comment in November that the Japanese military might intervene in the event of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, according to Thursday’s report, which cited people familiar with the discussions. Beijing regards Taiwan as...

Chew Kin Wah spent seven seasons gracing Malaysian television screens as “Kee Tat” in the hit sitcom Kopitiam in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now 61, the Malaysian actor is still working, albeit more selectively, taking projects when the right offers land on his table. “There is no thought of retiring when you are doing something you enjoy,” he told This Week in Asia, adding: “Money helps. Never fight with money.” For Chew, working beyond 60 is a choice. But for many Malaysians, the question...

A care scandal has erupted in Thailand after a nursing home was exposed for confining old and sick residents in beds covered by iron cages with barely a foot of space above their heads. Images of bedridden patients at the Sothornchai Nursing Home in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, have shocked Thais since they were shared earlier this week on the television current affairs show Hone Krasae. Thailand is projected to be a super-ageing society in the coming years, with authorities warning of a care...

A legal challenge to the vice-presidency of Indonesia’s Gibran Rakabuming Raka could haunt his political future even though he has survived damning court findings on his educational qualifications. The Constitutional Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition to unseat the son of former president Joko Widodo, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing. But it also found no convincing evidence that Gibran’s overseas education met the minimum high-school qualification required for presidential...

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday said Malaysia would do “whatever is possible” to strengthen cooperation with Myanmar and fully reintegrate the diplomatically isolated nation into the Asean fold. The pledge came during an unusually high-profile official welcome for Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, despite Malaysia’s position that such engagement does not amount to recognition of his government. Min Aung Hlaing inspected a guard of honour in Putrajaya before holding private talks with...

North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of ‌leader Kim Jong-un, denounced on Thursday South Korea’s plans to provide medical equipment aid to Pyongyang, calling it a “political provocation” and violation of its sovereignty. In a statement carried by state media KCNA, Kim criticised Seoul for publicising its efforts to obtain United Nations sanctions exemptions for a medical aid package, saying Seoul had “insulted” North Korea by referring to shortages of medicines and medical equipment...

A newly opened China-backed air force training centre in Laos could unsettle Vietnam, even as it aims to modernise Vientiane’s military and balance defence ties among Beijing, Moscow and Hanoi, observers say. China’s National Defence Ministry said last Tuesday that the joint support and training facility at Ban Keun Airport in the Laotian capital would strengthen the expertise of local air force pilots and was “not directed against any third party”. “The establishment and operation of the two...

Australia may have vast tracts of land and political will to support the growth of the artificial intelligence industry, but the development of data centres to power the technology is proving more challenging. Last month, property developer Goodman Group withdrew its application for a 90-megawatt data centre in Lane Cove, on Sydney’s lower north shore, after months of opposition from residents about the potential impact on their electricity and water supplies, noise pollution and other...

Foreign workers building the vast new US consulate compound in Milan signed agreements at a Milan hotel Wednesday securing payouts averaging €45,000 (US$50,400) each for alleged labour abuses while working for an American construction company. More than 60 labourers, mostly from India, signed the deals Wednesday to receive their share of a €31 million (nearly US$35 million) settlement agreed last month with Alabama-based Caddell Construction. The signings began Tuesday. Prosecutors say it is the...

As households across Southeast Asia face rising prices, higher borrowing costs and insecure jobs, analysts say governments should do more to protect a middle class that drives consumer spending but can fall between the cracks of social protection systems designed primarily for poorer households. The issue has come into sharper focus in the Philippines, where the Asian Development Bank Institute urged the government in September to provide targeted support for the middle class to protect its...

Elon Musk accused unnamed rivals of blocking SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network in India, an apparent swipe at billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal. SpaceX has been awaiting approval from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to offer Starlink service in India, where companies controlled by Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel have spent years building formidable positions in telecoms. “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in...

Japan is expected to float the idea of acquiring a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines in revised security documents to be released later this year, with analysts suggesting that Tokyo’s initial aim is to promote discussion of the issue and overcome the public’s concerns. Analysts acknowledge there will inevitably be pushback from some sectors of society in the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack, but say there is a growing recognition that regional rivalries are worsening and Japan...