Asia

China’s decision to ban Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and his family from Chinese territory has taken Beijing’s maritime feud with Manila into unusually personal territory, with analysts saying the move appeared aimed at warning other Philippine officials against taking a hard line. The sanctions, announced by China’s foreign ministry on Thursday following Teodoro’s recent criticism of Beijing, also prohibit Chinese organisations and individuals from engaging in transactions,...

Even Western pundits grudgingly admitted the summit between President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was a success. Both sides, according to Bloomberg, “appear to have walked away with what they wanted”. Given China’s rising pre-eminence while avoiding any damaging war, it’s no surprise that Xi had the upper hand in his recent meetings with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But with Kim, the stakes for Beijing were just as high, in light of Tokyo’s...

The state elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, scheduled for July 11 and August 1, have opened two battlegrounds where economic issues take precedence over the political wrangling of Malaysia’s coalition parties. The ballot will also test whether Singapore-linked rail projects, economic zones and a data centre investment push have translated into support among Johor’s 2.73 million voters grappling with higher living costs. Nominations to fill 56 seats in the Johor state assembly will begin on...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr will travel to Russia next week for a summit with Moscow and Southeast Asian leaders in a visit analysts say will allow Manila to show it can fulfil its role as Asean chair while keeping diplomatic channels open with major powers, despite closer security ties with Washington. While the trip is unlikely to signal a shift in Philippine foreign policy, observers say it will be watched closely in both Washington and Beijing for any concrete outcomes on...

Bangladesh and India have agreed to deepen cooperation along their shared border with improved intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols, according to a joint statement released on Friday, amid strained relations over alleged undocumented migration. Dhaka has accused Indian authorities of attempting to ‌force migrants across the border without due process, complicating efforts to stabilise ties following the 2024 ousting of Sheikh Hasina and India’s broader effort to identify and deport...

Crying without a clear reason can be a major source of anxiety for parents. As families look for new ways to navigate the uncertainty of early childcare, Japanese developers are rolling out AI-powered tools designed to identify the possible causes of a baby’s distress. One of them is Babylingual, a free app released in March by Moto Numazawa, a 25-year-old father in the Kanagawa prefecture city of Chigasaki, near Tokyo. In late April, Numazawa held his smartphone up to his three-month-old son,...

More than 1,000 Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, rallied outside a federal ministry in Putrajaya on Friday in a rare mass protest to demand recognition of their ancestral land and an end to evictions and development on their territories. Many wore traditional headgear as they marched through Malaysia’s administrative capital, carrying signs reading “Orang Asli are not immigrants”, “Respect the Orang Asli right to self-determination” and “Our voices will not be...

A major immigration corruption scandal could mar Indonesia’s ambition to entice foreign funds and high-skilled workers, according to observers, further tanking investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The country’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last week arrested eight high-ranking immigration officials, including then deputy minister Silmy Karim, for allegedly extorting foreigners seeking residency and work permits in Indonesia. KPK also detained nine visa agents...

Investors across Asia have been largely shut out of the world’s largest-ever initial public offering, which has forced them to find creative ways to make bets on SpaceX’s US$75 billion global spectacle. With no direct access to the IPO, traders from Seoul to Shanghai are piling into companies along the space supply chain, industry-themed exchange-traded funds (ETF) and Nasdaq 100 Index-tracking funds in hopes of eventually capturing some of the gains that many expect once SpaceX shares hit the...

A South Korean court sentenced ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol to 30 years in prison on Friday for sending military drones into North Korea, saying he planned the action as pretext for his disastrous martial law declaration in 2024. The drone flights two months before Yoon suspended civilian rule had sparked anger in North Korea, which accused the South of dropping propaganda leaflets as well. Judges said Yoon intended to provoke Pyongyang “into carrying out armed or equivalent acts against South...

The Philippines has a rare opening to turn its geography, skilled workers and deepening ties with Japan into a stronger maritime industrial base, but analysts say Manila’s push to make shipbuilding a strategic industry will be judged by whether fresh investment can produce lasting capacity. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr gave that drive a concrete boost on June 3 when he ordered the addition of 64 hectares (158 acres) to the West Cebu Industrial Park (WCIP), one of the country’s key shipbuilding...

Ohin Construction, its managing director and several employees were charged on Thursday over alleged lapses linked to the sinkhole that appeared in Singapore’s Tanjong Katong neighbourhood in July last year. The company faces eight charges, mostly under the Building Control Act, Workplace Safety and Health Act and Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) regulations. Its managing director, 64-year-old Ivan Ong Khiaw Yang, and six others were also charged in relation to the case. A car...

Thai Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the king’s eldest daughter, has died at the age of 47, the royal palace announced on Friday, more than three years after she slipped into a coma following a sudden illness. She was suffering from an abdominal infection and “her condition continued to worsen” until she “passed away peacefully” on Thursday evening, the Bureau of the Royal Household said in a statement. The late princess will lie in state at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and her funeral will be...

China’s ports continued to dominate global efficiency rankings in 2025, with seven Chinese trade hubs placing in the top 10, according to a study by the World Bank and S&P Global released on Wednesday. The latest edition of the annual report comes at a time when ports are playing a more vital role in the global economy than ever, as facilities strive to handle intense disruptions to global supply chains amid the aftermath of the Red Sea crisis and the ongoing fallout from the US-Israel war on...

A spate of agreements Nvidia has reached with South Korean companies presents a long-term road map for the country to expand its role in the semiconductor and physical AI industries, observers say. The most significant deal Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made during his whirlwind three-day trip to Seoul that ended on Sunday was with SK Telecom to build AI infrastructure, including factories. An AI factory is a data centre running an end-to-end operational system that continuously collects and processes...

A Malaysian mother of two broke down in tears as she begged for leniency from the sharia High Court in Melaka for attempting to have sex with another woman’s husband last year. According to Sinar Harian, the accused, Siti Iqbar Mazlan, 35, during the proceedings before Judge Abu Bakar Daud on Thursday said that she regretted her actions and also apologised to the man’s wife, Puteri Norfatimah Ishak, 25. According to the charges, Siti Iqbar and Hairul Mokhsin Zaini, 24, were found to have...

The Philippine Senate’s political crisis has spilled into cyberspace after its official website went offline on Thursday following its defacement with a warning accusing lawmakers of betraying public trust. “The people deserve truth. The people deserve accountability. The people deserve better. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect Us,” the message said, using a closing phrase long associated with the global hacktivist collective Anonymous. The incident comes as the Senate remains locked...

The People’s Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Bank Indonesia signed an agreement on Thursday to create a framework for bilateral transactions between Indonesia and Hong Kong. The parties aimed to implement a currency transaction framework for the direct exchange and settlement of Indonesian rupiah and Chinese yuan in cross-border trade and investment activities among companies and institutions in Indonesia and Hong Kong, according to an HKMA statement. This initiative was...

Malaysia’s search for alternative crude supplies is complicating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s “friends with all” foreign policy, analysts have said, with the country potentially tapping Russian oil despite Western sanctions against Moscow. On Thursday, oil prices rose again after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, 103 days after the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28. Washington has signalled it wants sanction waivers over Russian oil to end “as soon as possible”. Economy...

Three Indian sailors on a commercial vessel hit by the United States off the coast of Oman are dead, New Delhi’s shipping minister said on Thursday. “It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello,” Sarbananda Sonowal said in a statement, referring to the strike on the vessel a day earlier. “Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after bodies have been located and identified.” India’s foreign ministry...

The Philippines may be taking steps to curb gambling addiction, but the surge in calls to the Bridges of Hope hotline suggests the problem is worsening, according to the rehabilitation centre’s founder and director, Jon Ty. Ty said gambling now accounted for nine in 10 calls to the centre’s hotline so far this year, up from seven in 10 in 2025. Many of the callers were desperate family members reaching out because their loved ones were gambling addicts. Ty said many gamblers had also resorted to...

Zou Jiayi is president and chairwoman of the board of directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development lender headquartered in Beijing and inaugurated in 2016. Before leading AIIB, Zou was deputy secretary general of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body. She previously held senior roles at the Ministry of Finance, including as vice-minister, and as part of her three decades of...

Three men were charged on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a scheme to falsely declare China-made mattresses as Singapore goods in an apparent attempt to evade US import duties. Singaporeans Loh Yew Kong, 68; Leong Yu Fong, 41; and Loh Chen Sing Darren, 37, as well as three companies – Brighture Et Riche, Brighture Et Riche (Int) and Zenova International – were charged in connection with the alleged scheme, Singapore Customs said. Authorities commenced investigations in February last...

A Thai court on Thursday sentenced two ethnic Chinese Uygur men to death for the 2015 bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan shrine, the deadliest attack on the city in recent history that killed 20, including tourists from China, Malaysia and Singapore. The men, Bilal Mohammed, 41, and Yusufu Mieraili, 36, were arrested in a manhunt that followed the August 17, 2015, bombing which brought carnage to the heart of Bangkok at rush hour. Thai police said they found bomb-making materials at a Bangkok address...

The mayor of a southern Philippine town that was devastated by a powerful earthquake pleaded on Thursday for helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in several landslide-isolated villages. The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the archipelago in half a century, struck on Monday off the southern province of Sarangani and has left at least 47 people dead and 688 injured, with 31 still missing. More than 45,000 people remained displaced, about half in emergency...

Japan’s signing of a 20-year LNG supply deal with Malaysia’s Petronas has cast the Southeast Asian country as a valuable energy and security partner, as Tokyo looks to protect itself from global supply shocks and deepen ties with trusted allies. The latest move also underscores how, amid the energy crisis, Asian nations are striking deals bilaterally, with Malaysia leveraging its vast natural resources to rise as a “middle power”, according to analysts. Under the agreement announced during...

South Korea imposed on Thursday a record US$409 million fine on e-commerce giant Coupang over a leak that exposed the data of more than 30 million customers, provoking ire from US lawmakers. The move caps a months-long probe into the country’s largest online retail platform, which is incorporated in the United States. Allegations of a massive data leak first surfaced in November, becoming an unexpected source of friction between Seoul and Washington. “We have decided to impose a total of 624.68...

India is taking unprecedented measures to restore confidence in its national student examination system after a series of scandals fuelled angry protests from young people and put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Last month, authorities took the extraordinary step of cancelling the medical entrance exam results of more than 2 million students after allegations of widespread leaking of the papers. For the retest on June 21, the government will deploy the Indian Air Force...

Singapore police said arrest warrants for fugitive financier Jho Low remain active, even as the Malaysian continues efforts to seek clemency from US President Donald Trump. “Warrants of arrest and Interpol red notices for both Tan Kim Loong and Low Taek Jho are still in effect,” the police said in a statement on Wednesday. Tan is a known associate of Low and is also implicated in Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Low is accused by US and Malaysian authorities of masterminding the 1MDB...

Our report that China’s landmark Pinglu Canal is set for trial operations in September was one of the most read the week it was published. Interestingly, most of those who read the report were from the United States, followed by Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. The report had three times as many Singaporean readers as local ones. I find this disparity concerning and not for reasons of editorial vanity. While the Pinglu Canal is a global story – representing one of the...