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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.
Hong Kong industry players are set to go for their first overseas trip to explore belt and road markets alongside mainland Chinese firms. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to develop low-altitude sector blueprint as firms eye overseas expansion

Logistics chief Mable Chan says city well positioned for growth given established legal regime and status as financial hub.

Diplomacy

China bids to host High Seas Treaty secretariat, even as US exits UN bodies

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Banking & finance

HKMA unveils 20-point road map to modernise Hong Kong’s trade finance ecosystem

Thailand

Feathered fortunes, sky-high stakes: inside Asia’s richest pigeon race

In eastern Thailand, 5,000 pigeons brave predators and exhaustion in a gruelling sprint for a US$2 million purse.

Pigeons are let fly in Mukdahan, Thailand, at the start of a Pattaya International Pigeon Race. Photo: Rathapon Nanthapreecha
Donald Trump

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

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Malaysia

Asian Angle | To win the future, Southeast Asia must rewrite its industrial rule book

Success relies on five key pillars, including deeper regional coordination and targeted industrial upgrading.

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Myanmar

Video | Police find village-sized meth labs in Myanmar jungle

Junta authorities said they made the discovery after regaining control of land previously run by rebel groups.

A Myanmar police officer stands in the smoldering ruins of a captured methamphetamine lab near Namlan in Shan State on January 14, 2026. (Photo by Joe STENSON / AFP)
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Myanmar

Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

The bloc should encourage Indonesia’s approach of engaging key stakeholders in efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis, observers say.

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Token gesture? Why US is spending US$45 million on Thai-Cambodian border war

Washington is looking to reposition itself as the main peacemaker in Southeast Asia following Beijing’s mediation successes, analysts say.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | High Seas Treaty will both boost China’s power and hold it accountable

Beijing realises that maritime leadership will be measured not just by fleets and bases but also by who protects the planet’s last great commons.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong economy

73% of Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area firms ramping up expansion into Asean: survey

Survey by Hong Kong Trade Development Council and United Overseas Bank also shows 98 per cent of companies plan to keep or expand Asean operations.

The Asean flag alongside those of its member countries ahead of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia, in January 2025. Photo: Reuters
Myanmar

Philippine minister’s ‘premature’ Myanmar visit casts doubts over Asean’s role

Critics say the visit may be viewed as the bloc’s new chair endorsing a controversial junta-led election in Myanmar.

India

Opinion | Is India fuelling an arms race in Asia or closing a deterrence gap?

The challenge for New Delhi is to solve its deterrence shortfall without letting competition harden into permanent confrontation.

Singapore

Singapore urged to expand Johor SEZ to Indonesia to deepen Asean integration

The city state’s business federation and accounting firm PwC Singapore say such a move will ramp up the region’s allure to global investors.

Vehicles travel across the causeway linking Malaysia’s southern Johor state to Singapore on Friday. Photo: AFP
South China Sea

Claims of lies, coercion in Beijing-Manila war of words over South China Sea

On Monday, a Manila maritime council accused China of aggressive tactics; the next day Beijing said the Philippines was ‘provoking trouble’.

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The Chinese coastguard is said to have fired water cannons at Philippine fishing boats near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea in December. Photo: Handout
Taiwan

Opinion | The US wants to block China’s peaceful reunification. It won’t work

US weapons sales to Taiwan violate the one-China principle but won’t sway Asean or the wider international community.

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US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | Why US ops in Venezuela have shaken Asia-Pacific’s middle powers

Middle powers fear a return to ‘rules of the jungle’ geopolitics as rival powers carve out spheres of influence.

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Japan

Japan’s top diplomat heads to Philippines with South China Sea top of mind

The talks are likely to focus on Manila’s push for a South China Sea code with ‘teeth’ as this year’s Asean chair, analysts say.

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Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi looks on during a meeting in Israel on Sunday. He is due in Manila on Thursday. Photo: AP
Thailand

4 injured in bombings in Thailand’s south amid ongoing insurgency

Security agencies believed the attacks were a ‘signal’ timed with elections for local administrators taking place on Sunday, and ‘not aimed at insurgency’.

Indonesia

Asian Angle | Indonesia’s digital 2045 ambition rests on a fragile seabed spine

With few domestic repair ships and convoluted laws, Indonesia struggles to safeguard the 115,000km of cables powering its digital future.

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

US pledges millions to bolster Thailand, Cambodia truce amid Trump peace claims

Trump has listed the conflict as one of a number of wars he claims to have solved as he loudly insists he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Commanders of the Royal Thai Army (left) and Royal Cambodian Army meeting in no man’s land at the Thai-Cambodia border on December 27, 2025. Photo: Royal Thai Army/AFP
The Philippines

Philippine navy ‘up to the challenge’ of defending territory in South China Sea

Manila is banking on modern ships and global alliances to challenge China’s increasing presence in the contentious waters.

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Chinese coast guards use a water cannon against a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea on October 12, 2025. Photo: China Coast Guard/Xinhua
Hong Kong police

Editorial | Interpol meet will enable Hong Kong to bolster global crime-fighting ties

As host of Interpol’s 94th general assembly, the city will be able to show that its ‘superconnector’ role extends to international law enforcement.

US-Venezuela conflict

Letters | What US military action in Venezuela looks like to Southeast Asia

Readers discuss the possible repercussions of the Venezuela raid, and water supplies management in Hong Kong.

Investing

Why investors continue betting on Southeast Asia amid global tensions

The region’s young labour force, rapid urbanisation and emergence as a tech hotspot have made it attractive to investors, analysts say.

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People walk across the Anderson bridge in the backdrop of the skyline in Singapore. The city state is poised to continue leading the charge in attracting FDI into the region, observers say. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

Trump’s Venezuela move strains Philippines’ rules-based diplomacy, critics say

Critics said the US operation has undercut Manila’s claim to principled diplomacy, given its close alliance with Washington.

Protesters hold signs outside the US embassy in Manila on Monday during a rally opposing Washington’s military action in Venezuela following the seizure of President Nicolas Maduro. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong police

Police to deepen Asean ties as Hong Kong set to host first top Interpol meeting

Police chief Joe Chow says Hong Kong’s high standing will help foster ties as city looks to host 196 member country representatives in November.

The Philippines

‘Not very high’ bar: Philippines inherits Thailand-Cambodia border crisis

Given Asean’s policy of non-interference, the Philippines may be better off leaving peace negotiations to the US and China, experts say.

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