Asia

Putin has put China in a risky position: it is difficult for Xi to decline a trilateral meeting and hard for him to embrace the agenda Russia and the U.S. have proposed

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...

Converting investor interest into multi-decade capital deployment requires political stability and deep institutional predictability.

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...

Judgments and laws that violate the spirit of religious freedom often lead to bitter resentment, especially when core religious beliefs are defined by judges.

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...

China’s cut-throat price competition can shift financing costs onto smaller suppliers through delayed payments, weakening supply chains.

The PLA is practicing is how to disperse its naval forces, evade surveillance and reconnaissance by the U.S. and neighboring countries, and break through into the Western Pacific.

Pakistan's first homegrown air-to-air beyond visual range missile ensures a more robust response in future aerial clashes with India.

Insights from Maggie Wu.

Over 15 years, Honiara has transformed into a staging ground for geopolitical competition, with more foreign money than ever. Yet many of the problems facing ordinary Solomon Islanders remain remarkably unchanged.

China’s export controls, though developed largely for great power competition, have growing significance for India’s industrial future.

26 years ago Afghan women gathered in Dushanbe to declare their rights. It is a list of everything the Taliban regime has again taken from them.

The two early front-runners for the PPP’s presidential nod will seek to cement their control over the party in the 2027 chair race – but neither man can run himself.

The central question for Canberra is whether the electoral outcome creates greater certainty or simply replaces presidential unpredictability with political gridlock.

If Canada is to further cultivate its relationships in the Indo-Pacific, it needs a clearer articulation of its regional ambitions and its political limits.

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...

It is entirely plausible that Chinese-made components could have found their way into Houthi missiles. That does not mean that Beijing greenlit the sales.