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Asean

Asean
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development of its member states and the protection of regional peace and stability.
Rescuers evacuate a woman after Tropical Storm Penha hit the area in Iligan, in the Philippines’ Lanao del Norte province, on February 6. Photo: AFP
Natural disasters

Asean bets on new framework to remedy ‘uneven’ disaster response

The new ‘ASPECT’ initiative could help boost quicker collective regional responses during large-scale or evolving disasters, analysts say.

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China’s C919 passenger plane

China fine-tunes C909 jet operations in Laos – a blueprint for Southeast Asia?

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China-Asean relations

Can Asean break free from US-China supply chain grip?

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European Union

Opinion | Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

With global data at risk from hybrid threats, Southeast Asia and Europe need to look past declarations to secure our shared data arteries.

Workers install a submarine communications cable in western France. Photo: AFP
Scams and swindles

Southeast Asia’s scam compound survivors suffer in stigma and silence

Many survivors return home to inhabit a murky space between victim and offender, with few support services to help them reintegrate.

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Myanmar

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

A closer look at the vote raises doubts about whether the generals can hold the country hostage in the long term.

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The Philippines

Philippines urges Asean to be global investment safe haven amid Middle East war

This year’s Asean chair calls on the bloc to ensure investment ‘certainty’ at the opening of the foreign ministers meeting in Manila.

Filipinos test ride electric bikes they explore ways to save on transport costs following oil price spikes on Thursday. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Philippines’ bid for UN Security Council seat sidesteps maritime row

As a potential council member, the Philippines is expected to address broader global security issues and be a ‘responsible middle power’.

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Scams and swindles

Video | Cambodia police raid AI-driven scam centre targeting Europe

Cambodia arrested 65 suspects in a Phnom Penh raid on an alleged AI-powered scam centre that targeted European victims with live video calls.

Iran

Southeast Asia faces spillover cyber risk from Iran war as ‘blast radius’ widens

Many Asean firms are tied into the global network in the Gulf, Europe and the US, facing the risk of cyberattacks linked to the war.

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A building in Juffair, Manama, Bahrain damaged by an Iranian drone attack seen on March 1. Photo: Reuters
Vietnam

Why Vietnam’s new AI law makes it proving ground for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s first law on AI could raise the bar from voluntary guidelines to binding legal frameworks across the region, analysts say.

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A girl checks her phone next to Communist Party and Vietnamese flags in Hanoi on February 27. Vietnam’s new artificial intelligence law went into effect on March 1. Photo: AFP
Social media

‘We will go to war’: why #SEAblings became a Southeast Asian rallying cry

The hashtag went viral following a row over a South Korean band’s concert in Kuala Lumpur in January and protests in Indonesia last year.

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China exports

Chinese companies expand globally

Chinese firms are investing in overseas factories and marketing to develop global brands. Domestic price wars are pushing more companies to go global – “chuhai” in Chinese – in search of new growth opportunities.

China-Asean relations

Singapore and China have ‘common interests’ in safeguarding global order: envoy

In Beijing, Peter Tan Hai Chuan says two countries built ties based on sovereign equality and respect, not just cultural or ethnic links.

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Peter Tan Hai Chuan, Singapore’s ambassador to China, says: “An open, connected, and cooperative region serves our common interests.” Photo: Handout
China-Asean relations

Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

At a time when no one has bandwidth left, soft power is being won by being the partner that feels usable, steady and low-risk.

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People pick up Labubu toys at a Pop Mart store in Siam Square in Bangkok on May 8, 2025. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Hong Kong, Shanghai sign pact on digital trade finance, cross-border data link

‘This marks an important milestone in the collaboration on financial innovation between Shanghai and Hong Kong,’ HKMA’s Howard Lee says.

Myanmar

Myanmar convicts charged as ‘terrorists’ by junta freed in mass amnesty

Activists and armed groups fighting the junta have been labelled ‘terrorist’ outfits, and punished with life prison terms and possible death sentences.

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China-Asean relations

Letters | Asean is not choosing sides, but strategically maximising space

Readers discuss how Southeast Asian governments have gained bargaining power, the benefits of cheap public transport, and a harbourfront project.

A boat cruises past a nickel processing plant at Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in Central Halmahera, North Maluku province, Indonesia in 2024. Photo: AP
Myanmar

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

Old concerns about stability and security linger as other big players vie for sway over Myanmar’s rare earth bounty and strategic location.

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Food and agriculture

Opinion | How China’s national food security push could reshape global markets

Amid increasing pressure from trade wars and climate change, Beijing is reframing agriculture as a matter of national security.

South Korea

#SEAbling: the hashtag uniting Southeast Asia against South Korea

A row over K-pop fan behaviour in Malaysia has spiralled into a bitter regional dispute online, with echoes of the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’.

A meme circulating on social media under the hashtag #SEAbling. Photo: X/sna_zizah17
China-Asean relations

Opinion | Building Asean ties puts Hong Kong on path to long-term growth

Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding.

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Chief Executive John Lee delivers the keynote address at the Hong Kong-Asean Summit at The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel in Aberdeen, on September 9, 2025. Photo: May Tse
Thailand

Thailand wants to act as ‘bridge’ for Myanmar’s return to Asean fold

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.

South China Sea

Why big power rivalry poses ‘main threat’ to Asean maritime security

Smaller players ‘become pawns’ in a bigger geopolitical game as ‘strategic mistrust among major powers’ grows, Asean leaders say in Munich.

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Myanmar

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s laws allow its domestic courts to investigate and potentially prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed.

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East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta during an interview with The Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 27 last year. Photo: AP
South China Sea

Opinion | Can Manila’s South China Sea strategy of defiance and diplomacy hold?

China and the Philippines are both signalling openness to diplomacy alongside continued military flexing, but this may not be sustainable.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Myanmar

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

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China Conference: Southeast Asia

Editorial | As China and Indonesia strengthen ties, Hong Kong has a role to play

The SCMP’s China Conference: Southeast Asia highlighted the synergies between the world’s second-largest and Asean’s biggest economies.

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