Advertisement
Advertisement

Asia

Australasia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
This Week in Asia
In late 2025, reports surfaced that CMRG had instructed traders to stop buying US dollar-denominated iron ore from BHP – sparking tense negotiations that culminated in the recent agreement. Photo: Reuters

China Economy

‘Paradigm shift’: is China’s deal with mining giant BHP a global yuan milestone?

The agreement to partly link iron ore pricing to the yuan is a breakthrough but US dollar dominance in the trade remains entrenched for now, analysts say.

videocam

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

Robredo’s 2028 snub leaves Philippine opposition scrabbling for ‘saviour’

Politics

Is Indonesia’s blasphemy law for religious protection or political purpose?

The law has come under the spotlight after complaints filed against a former vice-president over his comments on sectarian violence.

videocam
A crowd watched a burning shopping centre in Ambon in 1999 amid clashes between Christians and Muslims that had killed hundreds in the Indonesian city that year. Photo: Reuters
A crowd watched a burning shopping centre in Ambon in 1999 amid clashes between Christians and Muslims that had killed hundreds in the Indonesian city that year. Photo: Reuters

Politics

‘We owe it to the world’: Philippines pushes for South China Sea code this year

Talks between Asean and China to agree on setting rules for maritime behaviour and crisis management under the code have stalled.

videocam

Economics

Why US tanker blockades are raising risks for Southeast Asian strait controllers

The bigger risk is not of the Iran war spilling into their waters, but the strain of operating in more contested sea lanes, analysts say.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

The sanction freezes all US assets linked to Senator Kok An and his named associates, and bars any American national from dealing with them.

videocam
Equipment used at a scam centre in Phnom Penh in March. This year Cambodia has conducted the largest crackdown on scam bases since the crisis emerged during the pandemic. Photo: AP
Equipment used at a scam centre in Phnom Penh in March. This year Cambodia has conducted the largest crackdown on scam bases since the crisis emerged during the pandemic. Photo: AP

Lifestyle & Culture

This retiree in the Philippines downloaded an app. Then he lost his life savings

Industrial-scale malware is replacing ‘pig-butchering’ as Cambodia’s scam hubs pivot to high-speed digital heists.

videocam

Politics

Australia signs US$7 billion Japan warship deal to boost firepower against China

The formalised deal offers Canberra a strategic alternative to uncertain US defence ties, analysts say.

16

Southeast Asia

Married Singaporean man’s secret Indonesian wedding ends in jail time

Low Kok Peng married a domestic helper in Batam before the pair returned to Singapore and he continued living with his first wife.

Low Kok Peng arrives at Singapore’s State Courts on Friday. Photo: CNA

Politics

A Delhi-Dhaka thaw? India opens door to Sheikh Hasina extradition talks

The former Bangladeshi leader and close Indian ally remains ‘a strategic asset for Delhi’, an analyst says.

videocam
Sheikh Hasina speaks to the media after casting her vote in Dhaka on January 7, 2024. Photo: AP
Sheikh Hasina speaks to the media after casting her vote in Dhaka on January 7, 2024. Photo: AP

People

Bangladeshi YouTuber’s death sparks mourning amid Malaysia’s DUI crisis

Muzahid Millad was killed in a crash involving an allegedly drunk Malaysian soldier, prompting calls for justice and stricter laws.

Lifestyle & Culture

Burger King in Japan dangles US$250,000 to lure rival franchisees

Meanwhile, Philippine fried chicken chain Jollibee has announced a record operating income and is accelerating its global expansion.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia rules out collecting transit fees from ships in Malacca Strait

‘As a trading nation, Indonesia supports freedom of navigation and expects open sea lanes,’ Foreign Minister Sugiono says.

videocam
A container vessel sails through the Malacca Strait in Port Klang, Malaysia, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Politics

How fake job ads in Philippines led to alleged spy recruitment pipeline

The ads, some of which experts say were linked to China, aimed to get unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists to give up key information.

videocam
The Janes ads appeared to be part of efforts linked to China to draw unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists into giving up key information. Photo: Handout
The Janes ads appeared to be part of efforts linked to China to draw unsuspecting Filipino defence specialists into giving up key information. Photo: Handout

Economics

Malaysia’s durian growers in ‘survival mode’ as early glut squeezes export trade

An early bumper harvest and rising fuel and freight costs are squeezing premium durian exporters as they race to get their fruit into China.

videocam

Politics

How the Philippines became Japan’s closest security partner in Southeast Asia

Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drill and its new weapon export rules are set to further defence ties between the two countries.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Health & Environment

Shock therapy: war forces oil-addicted Asia to finally go green

Burned by soaring energy prices, Southeast Asian nations are racing to future-proof themselves against the volatility of war.

videocam
Floating solar panels are seen at a hydro-solar farm run by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in Ubon Ratchathani province. Photo: AFP
Floating solar panels are seen at a hydro-solar farm run by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in Ubon Ratchathani province. Photo: AFP

Politics

Japan’s Middle East oil habit gets an Iran war reality check

Almost all of Japan’s oil comes from the Middle East. A closed strait turned that dependence into a trap.

videocam
4

Lifestyle & Culture

Cultural capitals: Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast the buzz

The region’s creators are going global, but the structures to sustain them are still catching up.

videocam

Health & Environment

Burning daylight: Asean’s power grid plans get an Iran war jolt

Oil is up, coal is back and so are fuel queues. As the Middle East burns, Southeast Asia dusts off an old plan to rewire its future.

Illustration: Huy Truong
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

Politics

Chinese drone discovery sharpens focus on Asia’s undersea security race

South and Southeast Asian nations are stepping up capabilities to boost undersea surveillance and defend deep-sea cables, analysts say. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Robredo’s 2028 snub leaves Philippine opposition scrabbling for ‘saviour’

Leni Robredo gives a post-election statement from her home in Magarao, Camarines Norte, on May 10, 2022. Photo: Office of the Vice President/AP)

Politics

Is Indonesia’s blasphemy law for religious protection or political purpose?

videocam
A crowd watched a burning shopping centre in Ambon in 1999 amid clashes between Christians and Muslims that had killed hundreds in the Indonesian city that year. Photo: Reuters

Politics

US slaps sanctions on Cambodian senator suspected of controlling scam centres

videocam
Equipment used at a scam centre in Phnom Penh in March. This year Cambodia has conducted the largest crackdown on scam bases since the crisis emerged during the pandemic. Photo: AP

Politics

‘We owe it to the world’: Philippines pushes for South China Sea code this year

videocam
A Chinese coastguard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippine BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippines-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, at the South China Sea last October. Photo: Philippine coastguard via AP
MORE IN This Week in Asia
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
OPINION
David Dodwell

Outside In | The Iran war is brewing a food crisis we must avert

David Dodwell
Nicholas Spiro

Macroscope | Why fixing Japan’s monetary policy isn’t getting any easier

Nicholas Spiro
Warwick Powell

Opinion | Iran crisis casts light on energy security from the US to Asia

Warwick Powell
Julien Chaisse

Opinion | How new US-Indonesia defence pact sharpens China’s ‘Malacca dilemma’

Julien Chaisse
Nikola Mikovic

Opinion | As Iran war fallout hits Southeast Asia, US is losing influence to China

Nikola Mikovic
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
MULTIMEDIA
Video

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters

Filipino fishermen worry about Chinese nature reserve in disputed waters
03:09
Video

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji

Centenarian becomes oldest person to climb Mount Fuji
02:34
Video

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport

Cambodia unveils new Chinese-built airport
02:02
Video

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail

Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to serve 1 year in jail
04:27
Advertisement
Advertisement
TRENDING TOPICS
Singapore
Malaysia
South China Sea
The Philippines
Indonesia
Advertisement
Advertisement