Asia

Two years after severe turbulence left one passenger dead and dozens injured on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight, investigators have released their final report, addressing major questions about what caused the disaster. Flight SQ321, travelling from London to Singapore, was diverted to Bangkok so passengers and crew could receive medical treatment. In the immediate aftermath, multiple analysts attributed the incident to clear-air turbulence – invisible pockets of air that can occur at high...

When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met on Tuesday, they had energy security atop the agenda – and something harder to name top of mind. It was their fourth meeting in six months, a pace of leaders’ encounters that analysts say reveals much about the uncertainty the two US allies are united in feeling, despite their historical grievances. The formal pretext of their latest summit was energy security. Japan and South Korea, heavily export-driven...

Viral “zombie vape” videos of young Malaysian men appearing dazed and disoriented after vaping have intensified concern that drug-laced liquids are spreading through the country’s booming e-cigarette market. The clips, shared widely on social media over the past month, showed local men slumped on the ground or behaving erratically after allegedly inhaling piu-piu or piao-piao (online slang for drug-laced vape liquids). At least two viral cases triggered arrests and fresh police warnings...

Allegations of sexual assault by an heir to a beer fortune against his own older brother have thrust one of Thailand’s richest families into an uncomfortable spotlight, stunning a public unaccustomed to seeing prominent households air their affairs in public. The scandal erupted last week when Siranudh Scott, better known as “Psi” – a fourth generation heir to the Bhirombhakdi family’s beer-to-real estate empire – shared allegations of historic sexual abuse by his older brother, Sunit, on...

Governments across Asia are tightening border screening and quarantine preparedness as health authorities work to contain a growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. Several governments have expanded screening and reporting requirements for travellers arriving from affected countries, though officials say the likelihood of local transmission remains low and no cases have been publicly confirmed in Asia. In Hong Kong, a Lantau Island isolation facility used for quarantine during the Covid-19...

Norway’s revocation of export licences for a naval missile system sold to Malaysia has thrust into sharp relief the United States’ ability to kill an arms deal between two other sovereign nations simply by restricting components its own industries supplied. Analysts suspect a gyroscope used in the guidance system of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s Naval Strike Missile and other US-made components are the reason Malaysia’s navy will not be receiving the weapons it contracted for – and paid nearly...

Samsung Electronics’ trade union plans for 48,000 workers to walk off the job on Thursday after efforts to clinch ‌a deal on bonus payments fell through, threatening the health of South Korea’s economy and the global supply of semiconductors. Union leader Choi Seung-ho said that the 18-day strike would go ahead as management had not come round on one remaining sticking point in talks mediated by the government. “I want to make clear ⁠that we had accepted the final proposal presented by...

Indonesia continues to notch one grim milestone after another. The latest: losing its status as Southeast Asia’s largest stock market to Singapore. The total market capitalisation of Indonesian-listed companies has fallen well over 30 per cent from a peak in January to US$618 billion, while Singapore’s has climbed to US$645 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investor sentiment in Indonesia has increasingly soured in recent months amid uncertainties over a potential equities...

Japan’s planned deployment of long-range surveillance drones on remote Pacific islands would mark a significant expansion of its ability to monitor Chinese naval activity, as Beijing’s warships operate more frequently beyond the first island chain. The drones are to be stationed on Iwo Jima and Chichijima Island in the Ogasawara chain south of Tokyo, according to a report by the Yomiuri newspaper published on Monday. The airfield on Minamitorishima, about 1,950km (1,211 miles) southeast of Tokyo...

The zoo housing the viral Japanese macaque Punch said on Tuesday it is considering a complete ban on photography and filming around the monkey enclosure after two men were recently arrested over an intrusion incident. The Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba prefecture has already expanded the buffer zone around the enclosure and installed anti-intrusion netting following Sunday’s incident involving two men claiming to be US nationals. The monkey went viral, attracting international attention, for...

Asia’s clean energy push is facing heightened supply-chain risk as the Middle East conflict disrupts aluminium and nickel production and could raise costs for solar panels, wind turbines and grid upgrades. Countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have installed more rooftop solar panels and other green infrastructure in recent years, driven by high power bills caused by elevated oil and gas prices. However, these green projects are facing uncertainties as the blockade of the...

US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, at a time of rising tensions over Iran, sanctions, tariffs and Taiwan, shows how far the Hormuz crisis has travelled beyond the battlefield. What began as a regional war is now touching energy markets, currency politics and the balance of influence between Washington and Beijing. The US is trying to keep Gulf and Asian partners anchored to the US dollar system, while China continues to push for wider use of the renminbi in trade transactions. Whether...

One of Thailand’s richest men dismissed his cousin from the Singha beer business empire on Tuesday, the company said, after days of controversy over allegations the man had sexually abused his own brother. Environmental activist Siranudh Scott, a scion of the Bhirombhakdi family who control the beer brand ubiquitous in Thailand, posted an emotional video on his social media page this month accusing his elder brother of repeatedly abusing him in his teenage years. “Everyone in my family knows it...

Security officers from the Philippine Senate are being investigated for firing their weapons without provocation as a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court sought refuge in the building, officials said on Tuesday. Senator Ronald dela Rosa briefly sought refuge in the Senate last week while asking the Philippine Supreme Court to stop an attempt by government agents to arrest him. The fugitive senator, the former national police chief in the early years of Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug...

A Pakistani court sentenced a man to death on Tuesday for murdering a teenage influencer last year after she had repeatedly rejected his advances. Sana Yousaf’s murder in June drew nationwide condemnation and reignited debate over women’s safety, after some online comments – alongside condolences – blamed her for her own death. A judge announced to a cramped Islamabad courtroom on Tuesday afternoon that 22-year-old Umar Hayat was sentenced to death and fined US$7,200. “This verdict is a lesson...

The Philippines’ claim that it is now among the middle tier of Southeast Asian maritime powers after two decades of modernisation has come into question, with analysts saying that its navy still lacks enough firepower and reach to match regional rivals. Rear Admiral Joe Anthony C. Orbe, commander of the Philippine Fleet, told reporters on Tuesday that the country’s navy had attained the status of a “middle power” in Southeast Asia as it marked its 128th anniversary this month. “We are on par...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held their fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, underscoring the need for greater cooperation between the historical Asian rivals amid global challenges, including the Iran war. Lee hosted Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern South Korean city famous for its centuries-old traditional folk village, a Unesco World Heritage site. In January, the two met in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, an ancient...

Indonesian officials have moved to reassure markets that the country’s economic fundamentals remain sound after the rupiah sank to a record low, but President Prabowo Subianto’s attempts to play down the currency’s slide has attracted criticism from economists and social media users alike. The rupiah fell to 17,720 per US dollar on Tuesday, cementing its status as one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies this year. Indonesia’s main stock index, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), tumbled 3.46...

Finnish divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of two of the four remaining Italians who died deep inside an underwater cave in an atoll in the Maldives, an official said. The bodies were located on Monday, when searches resumed after being suspended following the death of a local military diver during a perilous mission to try to reach them. Five Italian divers went missing on Thursday, with one of the bodies recovered earlier. The plan is to recover the remaining two bodies on Wednesday. The...

The AI-driven “super cycle” in memory chips may lose momentum by 2028 as Chinese chipmakers aggressively expand production and global tech firms curb spending, a Samsung Electronics executive adviser said. “South Korea’s memory chip industry is performing very strongly this year and some forecasts suggest conditions could improve further next year,” adviser Kyung Kye-hyun said at a forum hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. “But caution is needed for 2027, particularly...

Japan’s Type 88 surface-to-ship missile entered service decades ago and is already being retired in favour of a more capable successor, yet the prospect of Tokyo transferring the ageing system to the Philippines has stirred a debate that reaches far beyond its modest specifications. Manila expressed interest in acquiring the Type 88 around the same time as Japanese forces were demonstrating the missile’s firepower at joint drills with American and Philippine troops, according to Tokyo-based...

Indonesian authorities, including the military, used online disinformation campaigns to brand activists and ⁠journalists as “foreign agents” and silence dissent, ⁠sometimes leading to physical threats, Amnesty International said ⁠in a report released on Tuesday. Amnesty’s findings reflect growing concerns that Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, is backsliding towards army rule under President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander, who has expanded the military’s role...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is considering calling a snap election before a mounting fuel subsidy crisis forces him to make spending cuts that would strip him of the conditions needed to win one. A national vote is not due until early 2028, but the political logic of going early is becoming harder to dismiss. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance is fraying at the edges, coalition partner Barisan Nasional has announced it will contest the coming Johor state poll alone, and two of his...

Indonesia has proposed hosting an Asean oil storage hub to reinforce the region’s emergency fuel reserves, as supply disruptions from the Middle East lay bare the region’s vulnerability to energy shocks. But analysts say the plan, while attractive in principle, is likely to be hampered by political distrust, uneven national priorities and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ record of rolling out regional mechanisms that are rarely tested under pressure. Indonesian Energy Minister Bahlil...

Asian airlines need government support to cope with the more than doubling of jet fuel prices that otherwise risks some carriers collapsing like US-based Spirit Airlines, according to the new head of the region’s industry body. Wong Hong, who took over as director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines last month, said carriers needed varying levels of help and relief, from direct financial support to being able to cut flight schedules without negative consequences. “Nobody wants to...

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. ‘Godzilla El Nino’: Southeast Asia warned of punishing climate whiplash Southeast Asia must brace itself for a punishing spell of climate whiplash, with an expected El Nino threatening drought-like conditions, flash floods, crop losses and haze across the region, experts...

The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a marketing campaign sparked public outrage for ‌evoking painful memories of a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980. Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that licences and manages the US coffee chain in South Korea, said it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the head of Starbucks Korea, for carrying out “inappropriate marketing”. Sohn’s dismissal came hours after Starbucks launched its “Tank Day” campaign on Monday promoting...

A boy began sexually abusing his younger sister from when she was five and he was 12, continuing the assault for seven years and raping her repeatedly. At times when she resisted, the boy punched her, slapped her and pinched her. The offender, now 26, was sentenced in Singapore on Monday to 18 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of statutory rape, with another eight charges taken into consideration. The offender...

A Russian hiker was seriously injured in the mountainous west of Tokyo on Sunday morning, raising fears that Japan could be heading for another record year of human-bear encounters. Police said a bear attacked the man as he was hiking along a forest road near Mount Sanukido, close to the town of Okutama. The man, who has not been named, sustained severe injuries to his face and arms and was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Hachioji city. His injuries were not life-threatening. The attack...

Residents from US Gulf coast communities in Texas who say Japanese-backed fossil fuel projects tied to tariff negotiations with US President Donald Trump threaten their health and safety have taken their fight to Tokyo. Members of community groups from Texas’ Freeport area met officials from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), government-run Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi), as well as the ministries of finance and economy, trade and industry on Monday. They urged...