https://www.scmp.com/rss/523568/feed The latest news and top stories on Chan Chun Sing, a Singaporean Minister. He currently serves as Coordinating Minister for Public Services, Minister for Defence and Minister-in-charge of Public Service. Formerly Minister for Education and Minister for Trade and Industry, he advanced lifelong learning and led economic development. A former Major-General and Chief of Army, he was awarded the Distinguished Master Strategist Award by the US Army Command and General Staff College. He has defended... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s vision for a land bridge splits opinion: some see it as a crucial new Asian trade route for a global economy held hostage by geography, while others view it as an expensive and environmentally ruinous distraction for a kingdom with plenty already on its plate. But to its backers, the proposed road and rail corridor, bookended by ports on the Gulf of Thailand and another 90km (56 miles) away on the Andaman Sea, to bypass a vital chokepoint, has never felt more urgent. Iran’s virtual... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351797/hormuz-crisis-revives-thailands-land-bridge-plan-business-case-still-lacking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351797/hormuz-crisis-revives-thailands-land-bridge-plan-business-case-still-lacking?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:08:21 +0000 Barbora Valockova Barbora Valockova What does the world’s digital economy rest on? Thousands of kilometres of fibre-optic cable lying on the ocean floor and, increasingly, in the crosshairs of great-power rivalry. The confluence of recent subsea cable disruptions, gaps in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and intensifying great-power competition has elevated this underwater infrastructure from a technical and commercial concern to a security issue – characterised as “this century’s hidden battleground”. It has... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3346525/underwater-and-unprotected-why-asean-and-eu-must-secure-subsea-lifelines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3346525/underwater-and-unprotected-why-asean-and-eu-must-secure-subsea-lifelines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 04:00:08 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen If there is one big threat to maritime security in Southeast Asia, it is the growing wariness between the big players in the region. That was the assessment from Kao Kim Hourn, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), at the just-concluded Munich Security Conference. “Overall the main threat would be the increasing strategic mistrust between and among the major powers,” he said during a panel on maritime security on Friday. Kao did not refer to any country... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343748/why-big-power-rivalry-main-threat-asean-maritime-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343748/why-big-power-rivalry-main-threat-asean-maritime-security?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:00:12 +0000 CNA CNA The United States on Tuesday announced the approval of a US$2.3 billion sale of P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, torpedoes and related equipment to Singapore. “The proposed sale will improve Singapore’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible maritime force capable of deterring adversaries,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. It will “enhance the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3340684/singapore-buy-us-aircraft-torpedoes-boost-asia-maritime-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3340684/singapore-buy-us-aircraft-torpedoes-boost-asia-maritime-security?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:45:37 +0000 CNA CNA Singapore’s teachers are working some of the longest hours in the world and are shouldering higher levels of work-related stress than their peers in other developed nations, a major international study has found. The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), conducted every five years, is the world’s largest comparative survey of teachers and school leaders. Last year, TALIS canvassed 55 education systems, including 3,500 lower secondary teachers across all 145 public secondary... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3328089/singapores-teachers-are-stressed-out-and-overworked-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3328089/singapores-teachers-are-stressed-out-and-overworked-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 04:44:19 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Corporate leaders should reject rising protectionism and nativist instincts by taking an active role in shaping global integration, Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Wednesday, as top figures at the Milken Institute Asia Summit warned of risks from technological disruption, geopolitical fragmentation and zero-sum thinking. Opening the summit in Singapore, Chan said business leaders should not be bystanders in times of upheaval but instead help steer political discourse and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327502/singapores-defence-minister-urges-rejection-protectionism-nativist-instincts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327502/singapores-defence-minister-urges-rejection-protectionism-nativist-instincts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2025 08:15:49 +0000 Dewey Sim,Zhao Ziwen Dewey Sim,Zhao Ziwen China’s defence minister summoned familiar talking points as he took aim at Western nations during a security conference on Thursday, urging nations to stand up against “bullying” and describing military alliances as groups with “selfish interests”. Dong Jun did not name any country but his calls appeared to resonate with defence chiefs from Southeast Asia, as they took turns criticising unilateral action, including tariffs, and calling for greater efforts to advance multilateralism. Dong... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325991/chinas-defence-minister-warns-against-western-bullying-rallies-regional-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325991/chinas-defence-minister-warns-against-western-bullying-rallies-regional-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:14:41 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China will work with Singapore to maintain regional stability and maritime order, Beijing’s top-ranked military officer told Singapore’s defence minister on Wednesday. General Zhang Youxia, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), offered the commitment during talks with Chan Chun Sing on the sidelines of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum. “China is willing to work with Singapore to … strengthen regional security cooperation, support each other’s core interests, maintain maritime... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325909/china-ready-work-singapore-regional-stability-top-military-officer-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3325909/china-ready-work-singapore-regional-stability-top-military-officer-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:21:10 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Singapore will acquire four Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft from the United States to counter submarine threats and refresh its maritime security capabilities, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing has said. Chan was in Washington this week to meet his counterpart, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, at the Pentagon and shared Singapore’s decision to procure the aircraft that would replace the existing Fokker 50s, which had been in service since 1993. The P-8A maritime patrol aircraft is designed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325052/singapore-boost-maritime-defence-4-boeing-p-8a-patrol-aircraft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325052/singapore-boost-maritime-defence-4-boeing-p-8a-patrol-aircraft?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:50:41 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Few political parties in the world know dominance the way Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) does, as it looks set to become the longest-running administration in modern history. Following a resounding victory in May’s general election, the city state will on Friday open its 15th parliament that will largely resemble previous party alignments. The ruling party will continue to occupy a supermajority of seats, now at 87 of the 97 elected seats while its main rival, the Workers’ Party (WP),... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3323732/will-singapores-pap-rule-forever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3323732/will-singapores-pap-rule-forever?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 00:00:20 +0000