https://www.scmp.com/rss/328553/feed Meaghan Tobin has nearly a decade of experience spanning journalism and public policy in Washington, Taipei and Beijing. She covered geopolitics, diplomacy and policy trends in Southeast Asia and the Pacific for the Post until April 2020. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, a global pandemic. By the time the WHO’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement, the virus had affected 114 countries on every continent except Antarctica, claimed more than 4,900 lives and sickened nearly 150,000 people. The designation is not a reflection of its severity, but rather that the outbreak is spreading widely across the globe – in contrast with an epidemic,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3075065/explained-coronavirus-now-classified-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3075065/explained-coronavirus-now-classified-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2020 06:00:23 +0000 Global benchmark oil prices took their biggest single day plunge in 30 years on Monday after Saudi Arabia said it would increase oil production even as global demand has slumped in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. In response, Asian stock markets closed significantly down on Monday with the carnage spreading to the US, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2,013 points, or 7.8 per cent, in its single-day biggest point drop ever. The situation stabilised somewhat on Tuesday in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3074403/why-did-saudi-arabia-start-oil-price-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3074403/why-did-saudi-arabia-start-oil-price-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2020 04:53:19 +0000 Nearly three dozen lawmakers in Iran have Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including a vice-president and the deputy health minister in charge of leading the fight against the country’s outbreak. With 23 parliamentarians – about 8 per cent of parliament – taken ill, the nation has more officials sick with the coronavirus than any other. Two of them have died. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a 71-year-old adviser to Iran’s ageing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died on Monday,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3065257/coronavirus-how-big-threat-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3065257/coronavirus-how-big-threat-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2020 11:51:00 +0000 Hundreds of people returning home to parts of Asia, the United States and Britain from the mainland Chinese province of Hubei and the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship are facing an additional two weeks in government quarantine. Health authorities want to isolate them in case they end up testing positive for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, which has sickened over 80,000 people and claimed more than 2,700 lives, mostly in mainland China. The conditions of their... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3052326/coronavirus-quarantine-what-it-singapore-us-and-france?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3052326/coronavirus-quarantine-what-it-singapore-us-and-france?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2020 21:00:17 +0000 As coronavirus infections on the Diamond Princess in Japan swelled from 10 to more than 600 over a two-week period, experts warned that cruise ships may be one of the worst places to be during an outbreak. From February 4 to Thursday this week, the ship’s 3,700 guests and crew were kept on the ship docked in Yokohama, as the vessel became the site of the largest outbreak of the novel coronavirus outside mainland China. The air circulation on board might have played a major part in that, experts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051844/worse-aeroplane-how-being-confined-cruise-ship-fuelled?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051844/worse-aeroplane-how-being-confined-cruise-ship-fuelled?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Feb 2020 04:30:11 +0000 More than just an adventure, the Diamond Princess promised to be a “luxury destination in itself”. Before the cruise ship departed from Singapore on its latest voyage last month, its passengers expected to enjoy freshly prepared sashimi at a dedicated sushi bar, street performances in the extravagantly designed atrium and lavish productions at a “state-of-the-art” theatre. There was even a Japanese bathhouse for weary travellers to soak their limbs at the end of each day of entertainment and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051845/could-coronavirus-crisis-sink-cruise-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051845/could-coronavirus-crisis-sink-cruise-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Feb 2020 03:00:13 +0000 Retired American nurse Paulette Schaeffer returned to Las Vegas over the weekend after the cruise ship she was on, the MS Westerdam, docked in Cambodia on February 13 after being rejected by five ports over coronavirus fears. She told the Las Vegas Review Journal that she and her husband Joseph had an eight-hour layover in Singapore before flying to Los Angeles, from where they drove home to the state of Nevada. They had already gone to the Costco supermarket and were running other errands,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051141/coronavirus-fears-rise-westerdam-cruise-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051141/coronavirus-fears-rise-westerdam-cruise-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Feb 2020 08:00:21 +0000 After years of threatening to abandon the Philippines’ military alliance with the United States, President Rodrigo Duterte last week confirmed plans to terminate the agreement governing the presence of American troops, a key part of one of Southeast Asia’s major security partnerships. The announcement was widely interpreted as an attempt by Duterte to extract concessions from Washington, which regards military cooperation with Manila as crucial to countering Beijing’s activities in the South... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3050833/ending-philippines-us-military-pact-will-affect-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3050833/ending-philippines-us-military-pact-will-affect-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2020 04:30:16 +0000 Doctor Cameron Kaiser, head of public health in California’s Riverside County, population 2.4 million, said there was much uncertainty when his team was tasked with quarantining the first group of Americans evacuated by the State Department from Hubei province, China, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak. There was still a lot they didn’t know about the severity of the virus, Kaiser said, but they needed to help the group return home. “Some things you just have to do,” he said. “You figure it... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3050734/coronavirus-time-admit-flu-covid-19-here-stay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3050734/coronavirus-time-admit-flu-covid-19-here-stay?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Feb 2020 00:00:21 +0000 When cruise passengers first boarded the MS Westerdam, they thought they were in for decadent dessert buffets and nightly appearances by a magician. Instead, the 2,257 passengers – mostly from the US, Canada and Britain – and crew on board the Netherlands-flagged vessel have faced days of uncertainty adrift on the sea after being refused entry by five different ports. The ship, operated by Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line , set sail from Hong Kong on February 1, planning to dock in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3050186/cruise-nowhere-anxiety-mounts-ms-westerdam-set-adrift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3050186/cruise-nowhere-anxiety-mounts-ms-westerdam-set-adrift?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2020 03:36:56 +0000 Asia-Pacific countries are grappling with the potential economic hit of restricting Chinese tourists in a bid to protect their populations from coronavirus infections, with some imposing screenings for all incoming travellers while others have turned to deportation or an all-out ban on visitors from China. “It’s ideal if you can identify and isolate anyone coming across borders from China, but most countries don’t have these kinds of resources,” said Sanjaya Senanayake, associate professor of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3047821/amid-wuhan-virus-fears-asia-pacific-countries-weigh?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3047821/amid-wuhan-virus-fears-asia-pacific-countries-weigh?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jan 2020 13:14:22 +0000 The arrest of American journalist Philip Jacobson in Indonesia over alleged visa violations has sparked an international outcry over press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation. Jacobson, an editor at non-profit media organisation Mongabay, has reported on environmental and corruption issues in Indonesia since 2011. The 30-year-old could face five years in prison if authorities prosecute him for violating the terms of his visa, an offence for which other foreign reporters have previously been... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3047436/indonesias-arrest-us-journalist-philip-jacobson-sparks-outcry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3047436/indonesias-arrest-us-journalist-philip-jacobson-sparks-outcry?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:00:13 +0000 Health authorities across Asia are concerned the outbreak of the mysterious new coronavirus is larger than Chinese authorities have stated, amid a surge in the number of people infected in mainland China and as three other countries in the region confirm cases. The number of people confirmed to have contracted the disease on the mainland jumped from 41 to more than 300 this week, with six deaths so far, while Thailand has reported two cases and Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have reported one... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3047050/asian-health-officials-fear-wuhan-coronavirus-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3047050/asian-health-officials-fear-wuhan-coronavirus-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2020 12:19:22 +0000 When Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited a small archipelago on the edge of the South China Sea this week, he sent a message to the world. “There are no more debates. De facto, de jure, Natuna is Indonesia,” said Widodo as he met fishermen, promised investment and reiterated his long-standing position on the sovereignty of the Natuna Islands. The Natunas, which lie roughly 1,100km south of the Spratly Islands, are at the centre of a spat between Indonesia and China that this week forced its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3046622/are-aseans-big-players-about-get-tough-beijings-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3046622/are-aseans-big-players-about-get-tough-beijings-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jan 2020 00:00:24 +0000 Just two weeks before tens of millions of Chinese travellers hit the road for Lunar New Year, health officials across Asia are scrambling to prevent the spread of a viral pneumonia outbreak in central China. Officials from Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur are stockpiling protective gear, preparing isolation beds and even boarding trains to individually screen passengers to contain the virus, which Chinese scientists have identified as a new strain of coronavirus from the same family that caused the 2003... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3045317/wuhan-pneumonia-asia-battens-down-chinese-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3045317/wuhan-pneumonia-asia-battens-down-chinese-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2020 05:26:42 +0000 The Republic of the Marshall Islands on Monday announced David Kabua as its new president. Kabua is a political veteran and moderate who is expected to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan despite speculation that a new administration could prompt the archipelago to cut ties in favour of Beijing. Kabua, the second son of founding president Amata Kabua, beat incumbent Hilda Heine by a count of 20 votes to 12, with one abstention, in a parliamentary vote by the Marshall Islands, an... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3044910/marshall-islands-one-taiwans-few-allies-announces-moderate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3044910/marshall-islands-one-taiwans-few-allies-announces-moderate?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2020 15:30:13 +0000 1. A CROSS-STRAIT CONUNDRUM Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen is widely expected to come out on top in the election, which is likely to impact cross-strait relations for years to come. Her stance against closer ties to the mainland has helped her campaign, as has her support for Hong Kong’s anti-government protests – both of which will antagonise Beijing further in 2020 should she remain in power. 2. NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR WARNING More than a year on from Kim Jong-un’s much-lauded summit with US... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3044371/elections-taiwan-and-singapore-kims-nuclear-ambitions-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3044371/elections-taiwan-and-singapore-kims-nuclear-ambitions-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2020 12:46:46 +0000 The sudden appearance last month of ex-militants on the streets of Malaita, the largest province in the Solomon Islands, sent an unmistakable message to the provincial authorities: drop your opposition to the central government’s switch in diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. The decision in September marked the loss of the most populous of Taipei’s few remaining allies in the Pacific, drawing praise from Beijing and a sharp rebuke from Washington. Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043726/solomon-islands-switched-recognition-beijing-its-largest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043726/solomon-islands-switched-recognition-beijing-its-largest?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Dec 2019 01:00:10 +0000 TRADE WAR FALLOUT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA The US-China trade war spilled over into Asia, rearranging supply chains and relocating shipping routes. Asian economies home to low-cost manufacturing hubs – such as Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia – benefited as firms sought to move production or whole supply chains out of China amid the rising cost of doing business during the trade war. Washington turned its attention to countries that have been used by Chinese firms as pit stops to avoid tariffs, cracking... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043572/singapores-fake-news-law-denuclearisation-north-korea-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043572/singapores-fake-news-law-denuclearisation-north-korea-south?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2019 03:00:12 +0000 In China earlier this month, David Panuelo, the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, climbed the Badaling section of the Great Wall. And, according to Huang Zheng, Beijing’s ambassador to the Pacific nation, the countries’ “great friendship rose to even greater heights” during Panuelo’s visit. Chinese investment in Micronesia reached similarly lofty levels in conjunction with Panuelo’s trip, which marked three decades of diplomatic ties and included meetings with President Xi Jinping... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043152/chinas-great-friendship-micronesia-grows-warmer-leaving-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3043152/chinas-great-friendship-micronesia-grows-warmer-leaving-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Dec 2019 23:00:23 +0000 The United States’ decision last week to block the nomination of new judges to the World Trade Organisation’s appeal court – effectively crippling it – sees the organisation facing what experts warn is the biggest crisis in its 25-year history. The judgment of the court allows countries to slap tariffs and other penalties on those who do not abide by the rules of global trade – and without it, economists worry the world’s trade watchdog has finally been defanged. The WTO was set up in 1995 to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3042511/us-has-crippled-wtos-appeal-court-what-does-mean-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3042511/us-has-crippled-wtos-appeal-court-what-does-mean-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2019 23:00:18 +0000 Over the next two years the number of undersea telecommunications cables under the Pacific Ocean is to grow by nearly twenty-five per cent as six new projects come online. The new cables will not only connect millions of island residents across thousands of miles of ocean, but could also be used in the fight against what Pacific Island leaders say is their most pressing existential threat: climate change. Next battleground in US-China tech war: undersea internet cables An international team of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3042056/smart-telecom-cables-climate-change-hope-pacific-or-submarine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3042056/smart-telecom-cables-climate-change-hope-pacific-or-submarine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Dec 2019 00:30:12 +0000 In the contest between the US and China for dominance over the world’s technology infrastructure, the latest battle is taking place under the Pacific Ocean. While the US has been upping the pressure on its allies not to include equipment made by Chinese telecom giants like Huawei and ZTE in their 5G systems, Chinese companies have gained a foothold in some of the world’s most essential communications infrastructure – undersea internet cables. Smart telecom cables: climate change hope or... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3042058/us-china-tech-wars-new-battleground-undersea-internet-cables?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3042058/us-china-tech-wars-new-battleground-undersea-internet-cables?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2019 23:00:08 +0000 Authorities in Samoa are racing to contain a deadly outbreak of measles, one of the world’s most infectious diseases, as the death toll climbed to 65 on December 7 and the number of cases passed 4,400 – more than 2 per cent of the Pacific nation’s population. The government on Tuesday told Samoa’s 200,000 residents to hang red flags on the door of any house containing an unvaccinated person. Two days later, even the residence of Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had a red flag on its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3041019/anti-vaxxers-claims-fuel-samoa-measles-epidemic-63-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3041019/anti-vaxxers-claims-fuel-samoa-measles-epidemic-63-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Dec 2019 00:30:13 +0000 As vote counting in the Republic of the Marshall Islands continues after a general election last week, Taiwan and Washington are keeping a close eye on the tally. One of China’s top foreign-policy priorities is relieving Taiwan of its few diplomatic allies – nations that do not accept the self-ruled island is part of China under the “One China principle”. Taiwan is now recognised by just 15 countries worldwide, four of which are in the Pacific – and the Marshall Islands is one of them. Ten... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3039299/why-taiwan-washington-and-beijing-are-watching-marshall-islands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3039299/why-taiwan-washington-and-beijing-are-watching-marshall-islands?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 23:00:15 +0000 Is this the birth of the world’s newest country? That is up to the 300,000 residents of Bougainville, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea (PNG), who go to the polls on Saturday to kick off a two-week independence referendum. Their decision could turn the archipelago into a new Pacific nation – one that is positioned right in the middle of the regional contest for geopolitical influence playing out between China, the United States and Australia. But Bougainville’s neighbours – such as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3038946/why-us-china-and-australia-are-watching-bougainville-votes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3038946/why-us-china-and-australia-are-watching-bougainville-votes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2019 23:00:22 +0000 When South Korea’s Chosun newspaper reported this week that the Trump administration planned to slash US troop numbers on the Korean peninsula if its long-standing ally did not cover far more of the cost, officials in Washington and Seoul scrambled to correct the record. The Pentagon insisted on Thursday that there was “absolutely no truth” to claims that President Donald Trump could cut 3,000 to 4,000 troops if Seoul did not agree to pay up, and demanded an immediate retraction from the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3038980/us-and-south-korea-play-hardball-defence-will-china-emerge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3038980/us-and-south-korea-play-hardball-defence-will-china-emerge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2019 16:30:09 +0000 Maya Boehm, an American exchange student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has her bags packed to fly home at a moment’s notice.  On Tuesday, St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, told the 20-year-old that she and her classmates had been summoned home to “ensure the continued safety and security of our students” after chaotic clashes the previous night between anti-government protesters and police on the campus. The religious studies major has not been given an exact timetable... https://www.scmp.com/politics/hong-kong-international-students-torn-between-staying-or-leaving/article/3037691?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/hong-kong-international-students-torn-between-staying-or-leaving/article/3037691?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Nov 2019 11:05:33 +0000 Maya Boehm, an American exchange student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has her bags packed to fly home at a moment’s notice. On Tuesday, St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, told the 20-year-old that she and her classmates had been summoned home to “ensure the continued safety and security of our students” after chaotic clashes the previous night between anti-government protesters and police on the CUHK campus. The religious studies major has not been given an exact... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3037599/stay-or-go-hong-kongs-international-students-pack-their-bags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3037599/stay-or-go-hong-kongs-international-students-pack-their-bags?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2019 13:09:02 +0000 The US Coast Guard is focused on helping Pacific island nations combat illegal activities in an effort to strengthen their allegiance to Washington as China’s influence grows across the region, its highest-ranking officer said on Monday. Admiral Karl Schultz said the coastguard was “doubling down” on its work in the eastern Pacific, and last month had conducted an operation to counter illegal fishing in Samoa that he expected would be replicated elsewhere in the region. The coastguard would also... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3033939/us-coast-guard-looks-bolster-pacific-allegiances-chinese-clout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3033939/us-coast-guard-looks-bolster-pacific-allegiances-chinese-clout?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Oct 2019 14:14:14 +0000 Pakistani fashion designer Rizwan Beyg, who dressed Princess Diana during her visit to the South Asian country in 1996, prides himself on connecting disappearing craft traditions with the global fashion industry. In his 30-year career, he has sought out opulent embroidery and textile techniques specific to Pakistan for his designs, rather than making fast fashion. “The world has moved away from looking at humans as a resource, instead we look at factories and industry,” Beyg told This Week in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3033763/pakistani-designer-who-dressed-princess-diana-prides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3033763/pakistani-designer-who-dressed-princess-diana-prides?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Oct 2019 09:00:08 +0000 Near the People’s Air Force Base in the port city of Vung Tau, Vietnam, a state-of-the-art helicopter engine maintenance and repair facility opened this April to service Russian-made helicopters. Though Moscow does not often give its arms customers the ability to maintain and repair Russian-made equipment at home, the Vung Tau helicopter facility is part of an effort to broaden the scope of Russia’s prolific arms sales in Southeast Asia. Viktor Kladov, director for international cooperation at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3032608/russia-guns-why-southeast-asia-buying-arms-moscow-not-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3032608/russia-guns-why-southeast-asia-buying-arms-moscow-not-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Oct 2019 23:00:12 +0000 Russians poked fun at Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ill-fitting suit and slightly askew tie when he met the comparatively dapper Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev last week. “Did he just leave the pub? Does he know what [state visit] protocol is?” a Russian journalist tweeted. But for Moscow, Duterte’s five-day visit was no laughing matter. Duterte, 74, was the guest of honour at the Valdai Discussion Club – a global forum where Russian President Vladimir Putin airs his foreign policy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3032568/russia-romances-southeast-asia-trade-and-arms-its-no-match-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3032568/russia-romances-southeast-asia-trade-and-arms-its-no-match-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Oct 2019 16:00:12 +0000 Two Indonesian university students have died after a week of nationwide demonstrations against controversial legal reforms, prompting calls from activists to investigate police use of force and leading President Joko Widodo to promise an investigation into the deaths. The students, both men, were in Kendari on Sulawesi island, where one died of blunt-force head injuries and the other by a live bullet. Police insisted the officers deployed against thousands of protesters were not equipped with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3030736/indonesias-joko-widodo-promises-probe-after-violent-unrest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3030736/indonesias-joko-widodo-promises-probe-after-violent-unrest?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Sep 2019 00:00:12 +0000 Indonesian computer studies student T.A., 23, was blasted by police water cannons on Tuesday in the East Javanese city of Malang, when he and hundreds of students took to the streets to protest controversial changes to the national criminal code. The Brawijaya University student, who did not want to give his full name, was among the thousands of people – mostly students – from Medan in western Indonesia to Gorontalo in the northern part of the archipelago who united to reject sweeping... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3030368/indonesia-student-clashes-police-over-new-laws-spark-comparisons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3030368/indonesia-student-clashes-police-over-new-laws-spark-comparisons?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Sep 2019 13:43:02 +0000 The US Federal Reserve’s move to lower interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday is its second cut in less than three months. After its previous reduction in late July – its first rate cut in more than a decade – central banks from India to Indonesia followed suit by slashing their own interest rates. Since then, Indonesia has cut its rate three times and New Zealand has said it will adopt a zero interest rate. Experts now predict that this trend – followed in South Korea,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3029743/what-us-feds-interest-rate-cut-means-asian-consumers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3029743/what-us-feds-interest-rate-cut-means-asian-consumers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Sep 2019 02:30:08 +0000 The US-China trade war will not end any time soon, because the cost to both sides is minimal and is roiling other economies more than anything else, a leading economist from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University said on Thursday. Professor Tan Kong Yam, who is also the co-director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute research centre at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, showed data on how badly manufacturers across Europe, South Korea and Japan had suffered from tit-for-tat... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3029716/us-china-trade-war-wont-end-soon-will-be-sideshow-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3029716/us-china-trade-war-wont-end-soon-will-be-sideshow-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Sep 2019 10:15:48 +0000 For more than three decades, the Solomon Islands has been seen as Taiwan’s most important diplomatic ally in the Pacific, as its 600,000-strong population dwarfs those of the handful of other island nations that recognise Taipei. But the archipelago is publicly debating switching recognition to China, leaving Taiwan facing the prospect of losing one of its last remaining allies. The move took a step closer to reality on Friday after a Solomon Islands parliamentary task force handed down its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3027174/choose-beijing-over-taipei-solomon-islands-task-force-recommends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3027174/choose-beijing-over-taipei-solomon-islands-task-force-recommends?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2019 11:00:09 +0000 Robert Strayer, a top United States official in charge of cybersecurity, on Thursday said Washington did not see a distinction between Chinese technology giant Huawei and China’s government. Speaking at a briefing in London, two officials – Robert Strayer, the deputy assistant secretary of state for cyber and international communications, and Ajit Pai, the chairman for the federal communications commission – urged countries to adopt a “risk-based security framework” to scrutinise vendors and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3026989/washington-sees-no-distinction-between-huawei-and-beijing-top-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3026989/washington-sees-no-distinction-between-huawei-and-beijing-top-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Sep 2019 13:48:23 +0000 Two of Southeast Asia’s most prominent members of the Chinese diaspora, businessmen Dhanin Chearavanont and Mochtar Riady, took the stage at the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council’s Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday to reminisce about being early investors on the mainland. The tycoons, who both addressed the summit in Mandarin, emphasised their belief in China’s economy and President Xi Jinping, and described how Hong Kong had played an essential role in their early successes – and could do... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3026790/it-all-started-hong-kong-tycoons-dhanin-chearavanont-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3026790/it-all-started-hong-kong-tycoons-dhanin-chearavanont-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:49:55 +0000 The Philippines’ top diplomat has sparked a row on Twitter by asserting ownership over the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, reviving a long-standing territorial dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr said on Twitter that “Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines”, reacting to a US embassy item describing the area straddling both nations as part of Malaysia. Malaysian Foreign Minister... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3026422/explained-whats-behind-revived-dispute-between-philippines-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3026422/explained-whats-behind-revived-dispute-between-philippines-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2019 13:30:14 +0000 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged to invest in naval infrastructure in East Timor and provide an undersea internet cable to boost the island nation’s communications services as he visited Dili on Friday. The package is part of Canberra’s latest efforts to be a better neighbour to East Timor, as the United States and its allies jockey with China for influence in Asia. Morrison said his government would fund an upgrade to the Hera Naval Base on the country’s north coast, near its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024957/us-and-china-compete-indo-pacific-australia-seeks-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024957/us-and-china-compete-indo-pacific-australia-seeks-better?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Aug 2019 22:45:05 +0000 Coca-Cola may have hoped the star power of social media influencers, models and actors would help it sell the new pocket-sized bottles of its signature drink in Nepal as part of a marketing campaign called jigri, meaning best friend. The adverts featured celebrities searching for their jigri, which after a weeklong campaign was revealed to be one of the new 250ml bottles of Coke – marketed as perfectly adapted for fast-paced lifestyles, with their small size especially suited to stashing in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3024585/coca-colas-jigri-campaign-push-pocket-sized-bottles-falls-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3024585/coca-colas-jigri-campaign-push-pocket-sized-bottles-falls-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Aug 2019 12:49:17 +0000 Indonesia’s restive province of West Papua was gripped by violence this week as protesters clashed with police, leading Jakarta to cut internet access and send almost 1,000 additional officers to quell the unrest. The latest demonstrations were against racist abuse suffered by West Papuan students, but a separatist movement in the region has also been simmering since 1969. In recent years, Jakarta’s Pacific Island neighbours have become bolder in their disapproval of the government’s handling of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024136/chinese-support-pacific-nations-shaping-their-stance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3024136/chinese-support-pacific-nations-shaping-their-stance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2019 03:45:14 +0000 East Timor wants to cooperate with China in the oil and gas industry, but reports that Dili would borrow US$16 billion from China’s Export-Import Bank to finance one such project were a “hoax”, the country’s Foreign Minister Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares declared. Reports of the loan were “blown up by politically motivated people around the region”, Soares said, adding that East Timor actually needs much less to tap some of its last remaining oil and gas resources in the offshore Greater Sunrise... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023973/us16-billion-hoax-reports-chinese-loan-east-timor-gas-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/3023973/us16-billion-hoax-reports-chinese-loan-east-timor-gas-project?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 03:00:11 +0000 Sceptics of East Timor’s relations with China should know it is not a “new, fragile country” that can be easily swayed by others, its foreign minister said, citing how the nation handled its border dispute with larger neighbour Australia. Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares, in an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia in Dili, pointed to how East Timor last year used a United Nations law to resolve its maritime boundary with Australia, which will pave the way for both countries to jointly develop... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023934/east-timors-china-friendship-wont-compromise-its-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023934/east-timors-china-friendship-wont-compromise-its-national?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 01:30:05 +0000 Members of Hong Kong’s Pakistani community joined their home country in observing a “black day” on Thursday, India’s Independence Day, to denounce New Delhi’s decision to strip the disputed Kashmir region of its autonomy. The group held a rally in Kowloon launching the Overseas Kashmir Association of Hong Kong, and drove a convoy of buses through the area bearing posters which read “Kashmir needs world attention”. The gathering comes as Pakistan tries to rally international condemnation of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023010/pakistanis-hong-kong-condemn-modis-move-strip-indian-held?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023010/pakistanis-hong-kong-condemn-modis-move-strip-indian-held?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2019 01:00:10 +0000 Leaders attending the annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) this week will be hosted by Tuvalu – one of just 17 diplomatic allies that Taiwan has around the world. The Pacific region is home to six of these states: along with Tuvalu, those include Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Solomon Islands. However, in June the Solomon Islands launched a task force on reconsidering its recognition of Taiwan, which could open the door for others in the region to follow... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3022509/explained-taiwans-pacific-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3022509/explained-taiwans-pacific-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2019 16:07:12 +0000 Myanmar ’s military-backed telecoms firm Mytel this week revealed the country had carried out its first successful test of 5G services in Yangon – but elsewhere in the nation an estimated 1 million people were entering their seventh consecutive week without the internet. Residents of nine townships across western Rakhine and Chin states have been without web access since June 21. Authorities said the move was to prevent separatist group Arakan Army (AA) from organising, but regular clashes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022224/myanmar-5g-tests-yangon-seven-week-web-blackout-restive-rakhine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3022224/myanmar-5g-tests-yangon-seven-week-web-blackout-restive-rakhine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Aug 2019 05:30:13 +0000 Beijing is challenging Washington’s influence in Pacific island states where the US maintains strategic defence access by offering financial incentives that could lead to “debt traps”, according to a report released on Wednesday by Rand Corporation, a US government-funded think tank. Beijing has been courting the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands and Palau, aiming to gain access to their strategically important waters, the report said. The US currently claims exclusive... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3021998/china-courts-pacific-island-states-pursuit-foothold-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3021998/china-courts-pacific-island-states-pursuit-foothold-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 09:44:34 +0000