Asia

A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the current Asean chair, will travel to Kazan for the meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17–18. The summit marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations...

Beyond the diplomatic choreography of last month’s Xi-Trump summit, what are the structural implications of a less confrontational US-China relationship for the Asia-Pacific? The subsequent visits by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India and US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth to Singapore in late May shed some light on the question. Both Rubio and Hegseth had accompanied Trump to Beijing. Perhaps most telling was the switch in the usage of a geographic term by the US administration. In...

Southeast Asia’s extensive supply chains could be disrupted if it faces planned US tariffs over Washington’s accusations of forced labour in 60 economies, as analysts say the proposal is just a way for President Donald Trump to resurrect his trade levy agenda. Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are among the economies flagged by the US for purportedly failing to prevent goods made with forced labour from reaching its market. Washington said 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. At least 35 dead, 200 injured, after magnitude 7.8 quake hits Philippines At least 35 people were killed and more than 200 injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, toppling buildings, setting off landslides and sending panicked...

Rescuers searched the rubble on Tuesday of a collapsed building in the southern Philippine city of General Santos, the worst hit by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 37 people and injured hundreds, to reach two people still believed to be trapped inside. Regional fire officer Edgar Tanawan, who was leading the operation, said two people had been pulled out ‌alive from the commercial building, housing a grocery store and other businesses, but a third was found dead. Scanners had so...

Malaysia’s newest “rebel party” has issued a rare public call for election candidates, as former economy minister Rafizi Ramli races to turn his breakaway Bersama outfit into a serious force before a string of state polls. The move comes after Johor dissolved its assembly last Monday, with Negeri Sembilan doing the same on Friday, paving the way for polls in both states well before the next general election, which must be held by early 2028. A date has yet to be set for both state...

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said his government will focus on making life better for families and rely less on incentives to encourage citizens to have more babies, as the city state grapples with a record-low fertility rate. Wong acknowledged the limits of government efforts to reverse falling birth rates, a challenge confronting countries around the world. “Think about it less as procreation incentive,” he said at a Singapore Press Club dialogue on Monday. “Think more about...

Thai shrimp farmers have warned they face being driven out of business after Malaysia banned imports of five shrimp species over apparent safety concerns, as the industry also grapples with disease outbreaks, rising competition and renewed US tariff threats. Malaysia issued a temporary ban on June 1, also tightening import requirements for Thai sea bass. The move was a gut punch for Thailand’s seafood industry, which exports 10,000 tonnes of shrimp across its southern border each year. Bangkok...

Gale-force winds and rough seas battered New Zealand’s capital ⁠of Wellington on ⁠Tuesday, forcing ferry and flight ⁠cancellations and road closures as authorities urged hundreds of residents along the city’s south coast to evacuate. A light aircraft was briefly blown over by strong winds at Wellington airport after a gust ‌of wind tipped the plane onto its wing and wheel, the airport confirmed by email. “Nobody was injured and it was quickly righted,” it said. The New Zealand Herald said the...

Malaysia’s most powerful Islamist party has cut ties with a former electoral ally, blowing open a bitter feud within the country’s main opposition bloc as several key elections loom. Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) President Abdul Hadi Awang announced late on Monday that the party’s central working committee had decided to “terminate political cooperation with Bersatu”, endorsing an earlier decision by its Syura Council, the party’s highest religious decision-making body. The partnership had...

Deep underneath Singapore’s northeastern district of Punggol, a 5km (three-mile) network of metal pipes roars as it pumps chilled water to cool offices and classrooms overhead. The 140-year-old concept known as district cooling uses less electricity than centralised air conditioners – a major advantage for a resource-starved tropical island-nation that has to import nearly all its energy and where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the global average. The city state has laid pipes beneath...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out expanding military ties with Japan any time soon, insisting that historical grievances must be resolved first. The two countries have come under growing pressure to strengthen defence ties as North Korea, China and Russia draw closer together. But analysts say such a move remains politically risky for Lee’s government given deep-seated public resentment in South Korea towards Japan. To explain why his country could not yet embrace military...

Singapore will push for connectivity in Asean in its role as bloc chair next year amid a challenging global environment, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said, as he warned about the United States and China navigating a new dynamic. At the Singapore Press Club Eminent Speaker Series on Monday, Wong noted that keeping communication lines open between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump was important to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, but...

Malaysia ordered a crackdown on Monday against illegal businesses run by foreigners, joining a growing list of Southeast Asian nations rocked by similar operations amid simmering local resentment. In recent years, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia introduced visa-free entry for foreign visitors following the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to revive their flagging tourism, property and investment sectors. But last month, Thailand removed the 60-day visa-free entry for 93 countries and...

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck southern Mindanao on Monday morning served as a stark reminder of the Philippines’ vulnerability to a major quake in Metro Manila, disaster experts said. The tremor, which triggered tsunami warnings along the southern coast, left collapsed buildings, damaged homes and debris-strewn streets in its wake. At least 32 people were killed and more than 130 injured, with scores still missing, local disaster authorities said. For disaster planners, the...

Chinese President Xi Jinping started his first visit to North Korea since 2019 pledging “unwavering” friendship and deeper ties with a country that boasts a growing nuclear arsenal and increasing ties with Russia. “No matter how times change or how the international situation evolves, the friendship between China and North Korea remains invincible,” Xi said in an article published on Monday by Rodong Sinmun, a state-run North Korean newspaper. The two countries should “strengthen exchanges at...

A 13-year-old Thai girl has confessed to killing her seven-year-old sister while arguing over a toy and a mobile phone, in a case that has attracted attention online because of the young ages of the suspects. Police were called to a village in Sangkhla Buri district, Kanchanaburi province, on May 30 after seven-year-old Nong Agnoon went missing. Her body was found in a rubber plantation about 600 metres from her home three days later, according to ThaiPBS. There were no signs of a struggle or...

A six-year-old boy in Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat province died after he was attacked by his grandfather’s pet monkey, sparking concern in a country where exotic animals are often kept as companions. Nathan Ekkarat Srichan was walking alone to his grandfather’s grocery shop on Saturday morning when the fatal attack happened, the Thairath newspaper reported. Unaware of the danger, he came near the monkey, which was tied to two trees between the store and the house. The animal suddenly grabbed...

A bear roaming the streets of a Japanese city for three days forced the closure of nearly 100 schools on Monday, as dozens of hunters and officials searched for the animal. The city government of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, closed all 94 public primary and junior high schools in the area after receiving more than 10 reports of bear sightings since Saturday – including in a shopping arcade. “We have vehicles out to areas where a bear was seen to make people aware and to urge people to stay...

Foreign governments, international banks and multinational companies are increasingly tapping China’s domestic bond market, as panda bond issuance hit a record high in the first five months of the year. A total of 11 entities sold 14 panda bonds – yuan-denominated debt instruments issued by foreign entities in mainland China’s onshore market – worth 26.64 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) in May, up 246 per cent from a year earlier and the highest level on record for the month, according to data...

A South Korean protest calling for a redo of last Wednesday’s local election over ballot shortages at polling stations has taken an unexpected turn, with some protesters demanding that actress and singer IU send coffee to the rally. The demand appears to stem from IU’s decision in 2024 to provide prepaid food and drinks for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed martial law bid. The protesters calling for a new election, who are widely seen as...

The head of a Japanese IT firm has said that he created videos criticising rivals of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in last year’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential race, after being asked by one of her aides to help her win the election. Ken Matsui, 33, said in a recent online interview that he was consulted by a secretary of Takaichi on how to “reverse” the lead of Shinjiro Koizumi, then a strong contender to win the LDP presidential election in October. “I proposed that...

Malaysia’s human rights groups have warned of rising hostility towards Rohingya refugees after a petition shared widely on social media calling for the community to be “removed” from the country amassed nearly half a million signatures. The petition, launched on Change.org late last month by an account using the name “Aku Anak Malaysia”, urges the Malaysian government to consider resettling the Rohingya in another country or providing “enhanced support in their home regions” in Myanmar. It...

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday migration levels were reducing, responding to an opinion poll showing a right-wing populist party ahead of governing Labor. Support for the One Nation party was 31 per cent, ahead of Labor on 30 per cent, a Newspoll aurvey published in The Australian newspaper on Monday showed. Albanese’s net approval rating has sunk to its lowest level since the 2022 election at minus 24, with 36 per cent of Australians satisfied with his performance,...

Cambodia has failed to dismantle much of its online scam industry despite a year-long crackdown that authorities said would eliminate it, according to an Amnesty International report that challenges official claims of success. The London-based rights group said it identified 86 scam compounds operating across Cambodia as of April, up from 53 a year earlier, and found evidence of state intervention at only 24 sites during the government’s campaign. That contrasts with official statements that...

A museum in Japan is facing accusations of “rewriting history” for replacing the Nanking massacre with the word “incident”, drawing criticism and reviving anger over the country’s wartime aggression. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, which previously resisted revisionist attempts, appears to have capitulated to a civic group’s pressure campaign following Thursday’s release of proposed exhibit changes by its operations council. Other amendments announced by the museum, which opened in 1996,...

At least 35 people were killed and more than 200 injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Monday, toppling buildings, setting off landslides and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets. One survivor told This Week in Asia the shaking was so violent “you couldn’t stand”. The casualty count remained fluid as rescue teams fanned out across Mindanao, with disaster-response officials reporting deaths from landslides, collapsed buildings, falling debris...

Japan appears to be edging ever closer to a referendum on its pacifist constitution, after a realignment of parliamentary forces delivered the supermajority needed to put the change to a public vote. For nearly eight decades, Article 9 of the 1947 constitution – drafted under Allied occupation and long treated as untouchable – has prevented Tokyo from formally maintaining a military with “war potential”. That article has outlasted every previous attempt to change it. But Japanese conservatives...

When foreign ministers of countries that are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) gathered in New Delhi last week, the agenda looked familiar: supply chain resilience, telecommunications security and maritime domain awareness. The talking points have evolved, the initiatives have multiplied and the meetings have become routine. Asia is entering a new strategic era. However, its geopolitical debate remains stuck in the previous one. Across the region, governments are investing in...

The ⁠White House is considering ⁠a plan to buy the Chagos ⁠Islands from Mauritius, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. US officials have drawn up a proposal to bypass the UK and make their own deal to take control of Diego Garcia, the report said. The plan is among several options being ‌drafted by the White House, in a paper aimed at providing alternatives to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ceding sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, the report said. “President Trump has...