Asia

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...

Last month, Japan’s internal affairs ministry released its yearly data ahead of Respect for the Aged Day. People aged 65 and over now make up a record 29.6 per cent of the population. But the figure I keep coming back to was this: 9.43 million Japanese workers were 65 or older last year, about 13.8 per cent of everyone with a job. Members of Japan’s older population are not simply retired. A large part are still at work and some of those people are the ones businesses depend on. The Asia-Pacific...

Indian opposition leaders and student activists marched on the Supreme Court on Monday to demand the resignation of the country’s election chief over alleged voter roll manipulation, as authorities erected heavy barricades and shut six metro stations across New Delhi. The rally went ahead after the Chief Justice of India turned down a meeting request from an opposition delegation, urging them instead to file a formal petition. Mainstream opposition parties have sought to harness a groundswell of...

An investment surge into artificial intelligence may be helping prop up a global economy battered by energy supply shocks, but the technology’s potential to cull jobs requires swift mitigation if Asia’s youth are to secure a place in the future workforce, delegates were warned at the IMF–World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Monday. Soaring energy prices, persistent inflation and mounting debt framed the opening of the week-long summit, which was last hosted in the Thai capital in...

Indian factories, smelters and households are being hit by blackouts and rising energy costs as the impact of plunging coal stockpiles at the country’s power stations ripples through the economy. The weakest monsoon since 2015 has curbed hydropower output, while hotter-than-normal weather has buoyed demand for air conditioning and farm irrigation. That has seen coal-fired power stations, which supply about two-thirds of India’s electricity, rapidly burn through their inventories. Smaller...

Malaysians have reacted with sarcasm and disbelief to an Indonesian official’s claim that his country provides the region’s oxygen, as toxic smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan chokes neighbouring nations. Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s government communications agency, prompted the backlash after invoking his country’s forests when questioned on Saturday about the severe smog that has forced school closures and triggered health warnings across Malaysia and...

With his reformist credentials battered by coalition compromises and a looming general election, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has used his 2027 budget to launch a fresh wave of anti-corruption measures. But as his government nears its four-year mark, analysts warn that restoring public confidence will require more than additional funding and tighter legislative oversight. The measures, announced when Anwar presented Malaysia’s 2027 budget on Friday, include 1.1 billion ringgit (US$269...

Singapore again ranked as the world’s most polluted city on Monday, according to Swiss-based air quality monitor IQAir, as the fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands – intensified by a turbocharged El Nino weather phenomenon – keep emitting toxic haze. The city state has rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment and schools were closed in parts of neighbouring Malaysia, as both countries grapple with persistently unhealthy air quality due to fires in nearby Indonesia. The fires have...

A Melbourne man whose Islamic community centre has been linked by prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates to the co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain of a Flydubai jet has hit out at “false accusations”. The Omani co-pilot, now in custody in the UAE, had drawn inspiration from al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 suicide attacks, and carried out his attempt “with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life”, according to the Emirati prosecutor’s findings published by state media last...

Share in Genting plunged by the most in 28 years after the leisure group controlled by Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay announced plans to raise about 1.25 billion ringgit (US$306 million) through a renounceable rights issue. The stock fell as much as 17 per cent to 1.56 ringgit, the biggest decline since 1998. The issue price would be fixed at a discount ranging between 25 and 30 per cent, Genting said in a bourse filing on Friday, adding that proceeds raised would be used to repay its...

AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes met with officials from Malaysia’s finance ministry two weeks ago to discuss potential government support for Southeast Asia’s largest low-cost airline, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The talks reflect growing government concerns about the financial health of the country’s largest domestic carrier following a spike in jet fuel prices, the people said. Discussions centred on the prospect of the government backing AirAsia’s fundraising...

Indonesian authorities and conservation workers have successfully moved eight ⁠orangutans to a safe ⁠location after the endangered ⁠primates’ homes were destroyed by wildfires in the forests of Borneo. The Southeast Asian nation is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo islands, and the ‌government has warned the blazes could continue until November, aggravated by the El Nino weather pattern. Three mother-child pairs and two adolescent male orangutans were...

A South Korean container ship has returned from a trial voyage through the Arctic, testing an alternative route opened by melting sea ice as conflict in the Middle East disrupts global shipping. The PanStar Acro made the round trip to Europe in less time than the conventional route through the Suez Canal, officials said. The initiative has drawn concerns that increased traffic could accelerate Arctic ice loss. The Arctic route could also expose operators to sanctions-related risks because it...

North Korea on Monday fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast, Seoul’s military said, after weeks of mounting friction over a landmine explosion along the countries’ heavily fortified border. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed in a statement that it had detected several ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area, adding that its military “has stepped up surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches”. One of the missiles flew more than 900km (559...

On a recent Friday night in a Bangkok dive bar, a group of young Myanmar exiles sang softly along to a mournful ballad played on an acoustic guitar. None among the crowd had any plans to leave, either for their homeland or home for bed. They fled war, a broken economy and forced conscription into a military that seized power in the 2021 coup. While their future in Thailand is uncertain, their ties to home are kept alive by the hard currency they send back each month to parents and siblings left...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi three times in the past three years. Indian pilgrims are back at Kailash, the Tibetan mountain sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. Air China has restarted flights to New Delhi. But can trust grow between two armies that meet only in a crisis? And why does the Pentagon now talk to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) more easily than India’s army does? In September, Xi made his first visit to India in nearly seven years; Beijing...