Asia

Philippine officials want a new anti-foreign interference law ahead of the 2028 presidential election, as a raid on a suspected online scam centre near the country’s military headquarters and reports of Chinese-linked money transfers to a company tied to Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s family fuel national security concerns. On Monday, immigration and military operatives arrested 76 foreigners at a facility in Quezon City suspected of being linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators...

Japanese Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana said he tendered his resignation following allegations of possible vote-buying, lining him up to become the first minister in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government to quit over a scandal. “I apologise for causing such a huge inconvenience to those involved,” Yana said to reporters after submitting his resignation on Wednesday. He said he made the move out of concern for holding up parliament and his ministerial duties. Yana declined to comment on how...

A debate over tipping culture has erupted across the Indonesian resort island of Bali and beyond, triggered by a politician’s unfavourable comparison of domestic and foreign tourists. In a social media video, I Gusti Arya Wedakarna urged domestic tourists to “normalise giving tips in touristy places”, which he said was part of the island’s “ethics”. “Perhaps that’s the psychological reason why Balinese people are more excited about serving foreigners,” said Wedakarna, an Indonesian Regional...

When Daniela Cruz arrived in Singapore last week, hazy skies obscured the picture-perfect sights she had seen on social media, offering a different view of the city state from the one she had expected. The 27-year-old bank associate had travelled from Australia for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, but the smoky weather dampened her experience. “The buildings we saw on social media were covered in haze, and it made conditions extremely hot and humid,” she said. The haze blanketing...

Two leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were remanded in custody for five days on Wednesday, as police ratcheted up efforts to clamp down on anti-election commission protests. CJP activists and opposition parties have defied a security crackdown to demand the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner, accusing the poll body of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party. The commission, which oversees voting in the world’s most...

A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected Najib Razak’s bid to suspend his 15-year jail sentence in the 1MDB scandal pending the jailed former prime minister’s appeals, ruling that his health and other grounds did not justify a stay. The decision means his sentence is set to begin after his current prison term ends in August 2028. Najib, 73, received a conditional royal pardon last month allowing him to serve that separate sentence in the SRC International case at home, but he must first pay a 50...

Rescuers dragged 13 dead children out of India’s Ganges River after an overloaded boat capsized en route to a Hindu festival, officials said on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing grief over the “deeply painful” tragedy. The boat overturned late on Tuesday in Vaishali district in eastern Bihar state, with locals rushing to pull people out of the water in the dark using mobile phones to find the bodies. “It was dark when we suddenly heard children screaming and crying for help...

Japan’s prime minister said on Wednesday she probably spent “three or four more hours” than her male predecessors tackling household duties on top of her already packed daily schedule. “In the morning, I bathe, fix breakfast and then wash dishes, not to mention apply make-up,” Sanae Takaichi, elected last year as Japan’s first woman prime minister, told parliament. “I feel like I’m spending three or four more hours than male prime ministers doing these things.” A self-described workaholic,...

A long-awaited code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea risks becoming a toothless agreement, analysts have warned, as Beijing and Southeast Asian nations scramble to hammer out a deal by the end of 2026. More than three decades since it was mooted, the proposed pact has remained gridlocked over how to balance competing territorial claims among China and four rival claimant states – Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines. Maritime experts speaking at a conference in Kuala Lumpur this...

Asian countries must remind themselves about what happened during the region’s financial crisis in the late 1990s and guard against a recurrence of such shocks, the head of the Philippine central bank said ‌on Wednesday. Before the Asian financial crisis started in 1997, regional economies saw huge capital inflows that prompted the World Bank to describe it as the “East Asian miracle”, Eli Remolona, governor of the central bank, said in an International Monetary Fund panel on the outlook for the...

Stilt houses in villages north of Bangkok are no longer high enough to stay dry as Thai authorities deliberately flood riverside communities to spare the capital. Inside the home of Kamonchanok Sathaphonamonwut, raised more than three metres (10 feet) above the ground in Ayutthaya province, her family of three sleeps on makeshift platforms and cannot use the waterlogged toilet. Her village has been flooded six years in a row, pushing some to move away, while others have raised their houses...

Malaysians aged 30 and below bought some 5.4 billion ringgit (US$1.32 billion) worth of goods and services on short-term credit in the first half of this year, the country’s Finance Ministry has revealed. The ministry said it had recorded 65.9 million “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) purchases among younger consumers in the first six months of 2026 – equivalent to more than one in three, or 37.9 per cent, of total purchases nationwide. As of June 30, the outstanding BNPL financing balance among this...

Motorists have been left queuing for hours at petrol stations across Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in recent days amid reports of a crippling fuel shortage. Long queues have been spotted all around the island, including in the capital Denpasar, Badung and Tabana, according to the Bali Post. On Tuesday, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stressed that there was enough fuel to go around, suggesting that panic buying might have caused the shortages at the pumps. “People need to be patient because the...

A growing number of Japanese regard the United States as the greatest threat to world peace ahead of traditional rival China, according to a new survey. The annual poll, released by the Japan Press Research Institute on Saturday, found 26.8 per cent of respondents named the US as the biggest threat to global peace. That was up 9.3 percentage points on last year and far above the 6.6 per cent recorded in 2024. Russia came top of the list in 2025 but slipped to third place this year, with 18.3 per...

Russia’s FSB security agency said on Tuesday it had detained a Japanese journalist for alleged espionage, and Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said it regretted that Tokyo was using correspondents to carry out spying. In a statement on its website, the FSB said the Hokkaido Shimbun journalist was detained in the far eastern Sakhalin region on the day before he planned to leave Russia. It did not specify when this was. Russia and Japan, ‌which never signed a formal World War II peace treaty, have seen...

The Philippine military has rejected calls to restore direct communication channels with its Chinese counterpart, despite warnings from Beijing that their absence risks “miscalculation” during confrontations and could further escalate tensions in the South China Sea. On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it would not communicate with its Chinese counterpart in advance of its maritime operations, arguing that such channels were ineffective without mutual respect for international...

The US government’s plan to live-stream the execution of a former Army member convicted in a deadly 2009 mass shooting is raising questions about how effectively Southeast Asian governments can restrict graphic online content. Analysts say while authorities may have powers to restrict access to the live stream, containing clips and altered copies of the killing posted to social media could prove far more difficult. The issue gained fresh urgency on Tuesday, after Australia’s Environment Minister...

A 59-year-old man stabbed at least eight people on Tuesday at a shopping centre in the South Korean city of Incheon, police and fire officials said. One victim was in life-threatening condition and received surgery at a nearby hospital. The suspect attacked shoppers as he moved through the shopping centre before business owners and bystanders subdued him, according to local police and witnesses. The man has a history of violent offences and mental illness and was required to wear an electronic...

US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports and allow fresh supplies to reach global markets could give India greater leverage in its own dispute with Washington over discounted crude purchases, analysts said. Beyond the energy dispute, they said the move could also open up diplomatic opportunities for New Delhi, from pressing for more consistent treatment by Washington to building on its efforts to help negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Under the...

Leaders of India’s “cockroach” protest movement were detained again on Tuesday, their second detention in days, as a stand-off with authorities deepened over a contentious overhaul of voter rolls. Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, two prominent faces of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, were taken into custody with other members after jumping barricades to enter Jantar Mantar, historically one of New Delhi’s main protest venues. Delhi police on Monday removed Jantar Mantar’s designation as a...

An Indonesian official’s claim that the country exports “oxygen” and not just smoke to its neighbours has renewed criticism of Jakarta’s handling of its annual forest fires, with analysts warning that defensive nationalism risks undermining regional cooperation to tackle the recurring haze crisis. The remarks by Syahganda Nainggolan, the newly appointed head of the Government Communication Agency, reignited criticism over Indonesia’s handling of its ongoing forest and peatland fires, which have...

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday that officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the alleged killing of an Okinawan woman by a US marine. Crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-runs and drunk driving by US military personnel have long triggered protests on the southern Japanese island, which has for years urged other regions in the country to share the burden of hosting US troops. “We plan to hold discussions including...

North Korea now has a museum for its bombs. The National Defence Revolution Museum, which opened on Sunday, is the country’s first dedicated exclusively to military hardware, from rifles to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Observers say it is also intended to send a message to Washington and Seoul, serve as a permanent showroom for the North’s arms exports and visibly enshrine its nuclear programme as an irreversible part of state policy. Third-generation ruler Kim Jong-un cut the...

The Philippine Senate, sitting as an impeachment ⁠court, approved the ⁠prosecution’s withdrawal of most of ⁠the charges against Vice-President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, in a trial that could kill her hopes to run for president in 2028. Prosecutors have been presenting evidence against ‌Duterte since July on charges that she betrayed public trust, amassed unexplained wealth, violated the constitution and committed corruption, bribery and other high crimes. Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro told the...

Fiji’s Justice Minister Siromi Turaga stepped down from cabinet on Tuesday after an intimate video of him went viral online – the second such scandal to rock the Pacific island nation’s government. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who previously sought credible “proof” before taking action against Turaga, said he accepted his colleague’s resignation. “You mentioned him? Go ahead and report him to me and the Online Safety Commissioner, and I will get proof from that authority with you making the...

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. Marcos says Philippines ‘resigned’ to managing South China Sea dispute 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. 2. ‘A show of...

It was a detour that saved his life. Malaysian Low Hock Meng, a 71-year-old veteran trekker, had set off on his own in Nepal. He wanted to explore the Tamang trail, Langtang Valley and Gosaikunda. Along his journey, he made the decision to visit the Nagathali viewpoint for a glimpse of Tibet on August 25. Low then made his way down towards Thuman en route to Lingling in Nepal’s Bagmati province on August 26. That is when he realised that something was seriously wrong. When he looked at Syapru...

For Singaporean civil servant Clare*, finding a suitable lifelong partner has been an uphill battle. Swiping on dating apps soon became a chore after multiple unsuccessful first dates, so when the government launched its own platform, the 32-year-old was all for it. “It’s like: ‘Why not?’, and I think it does have a few screening procedures so it might save you some trouble like having to deal with impersonators or people who do not match with their advertised profiles,” she said. Singapore...

Ripe mangosteen and rambutan hang unpicked from trees in eastern Thailand, where a shortage of migrant workers is forcing growers to decide which crops are valuable enough to harvest and which will be left to rot. For Jomsak Putirattana, who also grows durian in Chanthaburi province, the departure of his five Cambodian workers after a border dispute disrupted crossings has intensified competition for labour. Daily wages have more than doubled in some cases, from about 350 baht to 400 baht (US$10...

Investor Ben Lindsay relocated from Sydney to Singapore in March, with wife and dog in tow – his sights set on growing venture capital firm Investible from an Australian outfit into an Asia-Pacific one. Lindsay is among a growing number of investors, businessmen and tech founders from down under who are setting up bases and relocating to Singapore, Dubai and San Francisco to expand their company’s reach. For example, Australian billionaire Adrian Portelli, founder of savings and rewards platform...