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This Week in Asia
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta in November 2024. Photo: AFP

Politics

Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore

For decades, Indonesia’s standing was a given. A new survey suggests the region’s opinion leaders are no longer so sure.

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South Korean police seek arrest warrant for Hybe’s Bang after travel request

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‘River of mud’ in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands prompts accountability calls

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Southeast Asia

World’s top condom maker to raise prices by up to 30% over Iran war

Condom demand has surged with rising freight costs and shipping delays leaving many of Karex’s customers with lower stockpiles.

ONE condoms by Karex on display in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Photo: Reuters
ONE condoms by Karex on display in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Photo: Reuters

Health & Environment

Big one coming? Japan issues megaquake advisory after magnitude 7.7 shock

The Japan Meteorological Agency has upped the risk of a megaquake to 1 per cent, compared to 0.1 per cent at other times.

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Lifestyle & Culture

Work-from-home may not save as much energy as Southeast Asia hopes

Remote work for civil servants sounds like an easy solution in an energy crisis. Analysts aren’t so sure.

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Southeast Asia

Myanmar president seeks peace talks by July 31, 2 rebel groups reject offer

Of the rebel groups that Min Aung Hlaing mentioned in his offer, the Karen National Union and the Chin National Front have rejected his call.

An anti-coup activist undergoes military training at a camp of the Karen National Union, an ethnic rebel group, in Kayin state, Myanmar. Photo: AFP
An anti-coup activist undergoes military training at a camp of the Karen National Union, an ethnic rebel group, in Kayin state, Myanmar. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asia

Indonesia passes law to protect domestic workers after a wait of over 20 years

Without legal protection, domestic workers were forced to operate in an informal and unregulated economy, exposed to exploitation and abuse.

East Asia

Japan’s Takaichi sends Yasukuni shrine offering, South Korea expresses ‘regret’

Seoul urges Japan’s leaders to ‘face history squarely’ and show through action ‘a sincere remorse for its past’.

Politics

Iran firing on Indian oil tankers in Hormuz sparks ‘mistaken identity’ fears

Analysts say the episode reveals how easily military pressure and confusion in Hormuz can affect vessels not meant to be in the line of fire.

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Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Politics

Vietnam and Philippines trust Japan. Why doesn’t Indonesia?

Analysts say Indonesia worries about its neutrality as Tokyo ramps up ties with the US and lags behind China on green investment.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump share a glance during remarks at White House dinner on March 19. Photo: Kyodo
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump share a glance during remarks at White House dinner on March 19. Photo: Kyodo

Politics

Why Japan’s Takaichi is already facing resistance inside her own party

Observers say the prime minister’s assertive style and policy agenda have caused unease among the Liberal Democratic Party’s old guard.

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Economics

Strait talking: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia unite to secure safe shipping

Together, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore form the world’s busiest corridor for crude oil and petroleum liquids by volume.

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Politics

India and China wall off border rows to focus on trade and security

Analysts say the two sides are returning to a state of ‘managed coexistence’ after their Shanghai Cooperation Organisation talks.

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A picture shared by Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong shows Yan Wenbin (right), China’s national coordinator for SCO affairs, with his Indian counterpart Alok Amitabh Dimri during talks in New Delhi on April 16-17. Photo: X/China_Amb_India

Economics

Can a US-governed ‘Pax Silica’ hub turn Philippines into a chip powerhouse?

The chip-focused ‘economic security zone’ will reportedly operate under US law despite being on Philippine soil.

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An employee of a semiconductor company in Manila displays computer chips manufactured in the Philippines in 2008. The country has long been confined to the lower-value work of chip assembly, testing and packaging. Photo: AFP
An employee of a semiconductor company in Manila displays computer chips manufactured in the Philippines in 2008. The country has long been confined to the lower-value work of chip assembly, testing and packaging. Photo: AFP

Politics

‘Intelligence leak’ claims expose trust gap in US-South Korea ties

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young rejects accusations he leaked sensitive information about North Korea’s Kusong nuclear facility.

Health & Environment

‘Worst I’ve seen’: forest fires rage across Thailand, Mekong region

The region faces a perennial haze scourge, with enforcement of bans against slash-and-burn farm practices remaining patchy.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
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Highlights from
THIS WEEK IN ASIA

People

South Korean police seek arrest warrant for Hybe’s Bang after travel request

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Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk answers reporters’ question upon his arrival at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on September 15, 2025. Photo: Newsis/AP

Health & Environment

Big one coming? Japan issues megaquake advisory after magnitude 7.7 shock

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An electronic signboard in Ofunato city, Iwate prefecture, displays a sign saying “Hokkaido and Off the Sanriku Coast Aftershock Advisory” early on Tuesday. Photo: Jiji Press/AFP

Health & Environment

‘River of mud’ in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands prompts accountability calls

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Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands is a popular tourist destination. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta in November 2024. Photo: AFP

Economics

Strait talking: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia unite to secure safe shipping

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Small boats sail beside vessels anchored in the Strait of Singapore on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
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