This Week in Asia /

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Delegates look at the GCAP sixth-generation fighter jet concept design at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024. Photo: AFP
Japan

Grounded European fighter jet project gives Japan’s partnership wings

Germany, France and Spain have put their project on hold, prompting speculation that some may turn to the Japan-UK-Italy programme.

Asean

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

Singapore

Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong removes Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition

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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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Cambodian soldiers repatriated from Thailand receive roses following their release on December 31, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Cambodian soldiers repatriated from Thailand receive roses following their release on December 31, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Japan’s Takaichi faces uphill task in election as opposition unites

Takaichi’s LDP is expected to lose millions of votes as Komeito allies with the CDP after ending its coalition with the ruling party.

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Singapore

Singapore MPs back motion deeming Pritam Singh unfit to be opposition leader

The 11 WP MPs present opposed the motion, while the rest of the House, mainly PAP MPs, voted to deem Singh unsuitable for his role.

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South Korea

South Korea-Japan summit exposes ‘strategic’ divide amid great-power tensions

While Seoul urged broader regional cooperation that would include China, Tokyo emphasised closer alignment with Washington.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung shake hands during a visit to Horyu-ji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara prefecture, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung shake hands during a visit to Horyu-ji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara prefecture, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

Philippines ‘comfort women’ demand apology during Japan foreign minister visit

Analysts say Manila is unlikely to back the surviving victims of sex slavery, fearing it could jeopardise billions in infrastructure funding.

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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.

Iran

Trump vs Iran: Gulf allies fear US ‘help’ may unleash chaos

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are urging against military action, even as the US president teases that ‘help is on its way’.

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Iraqis burn an image of US President Donald Trump on Tuesday during a rally held in Basra in solidarity with Iran’s government. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea’s Yoon could become ‘martyr’ if given death penalty: analysts

While prosecutors have demanded death for the disgraced ex-president over his martial law debacle, a life imprisonment sentence is seen as more likely.

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A protester punches an effigy of Yoon Suk-yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul in 2024. Photo: AFP
A protester punches an effigy of Yoon Suk-yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul in 2024. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan’s ‘love hotel’ mayor stages comeback, shattering political taboos

Akira Ogawa’s return suggests voters are finally judging women in Japanese politics by the same imperfect standards as men.

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Malaysia

‘No oil here’: Malaysians turn US embassy space post into foreign-policy satire

The embassy’s International Space Station image prompted self-deprecating jokes about oil, US power and being strategically uninteresting.

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Thailand

Money for babies, combat pay: Thailand’s poll turns into a cash splash contest

From US$2,000 for newborns to debt write-offs, Thai political parties are dangling a raft of handouts in a bid to woo voters on February 8.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party, greets a woman and her baby during an election campaign event in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: EPA
Japan

Japan PM seeks unity with South Korea’s Lee as China tensions persist

Takaichi aims to bolster ties with Seoul by avoiding ‘divisive’ issues as Tokyo grapples with Beijing’s economic retaliation.

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South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during their meeting in Nara on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during their meeting in Nara on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
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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North Korea

‘Gang of hooligans’: rebuke from North Korea signals icy ties with South

The unusually coarse language from Kim Jong-un’s sister shows that Pyongyang has no intention of reconciling with Seoul, experts say.

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The Philippines

Exclusive | Philippine army colonel faces charges after anti-Marcos post goes viral

Audie Mongao will also undergo psychiatric tests after he sparked a political storm by withdrawing support for the president.

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Philippine army colonel Audie Mongao’s actions are under military investigation. Photo: Facebook/YourPhilippineArmy
Philippine army colonel Audie Mongao’s actions are under military investigation. Photo: Facebook/YourPhilippineArmy
Pacific nations

US strips moral framing from foreign aid in ‘America first’ pivot

US funding for the Asia-Pacific now ties aid to business and security wins, a move analysts condemn as a ‘corrosive’ shift.

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Iran

‘Something has to give’: Iran on the brink as protest fury mounts

Weakened by conflict with Israel and a plummeting currency, analysts say the regime faces a choice between radical reform or collapse.

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North Korea

North Korea revives drone claims in rebuff to Seoul’s outreach

Analysts dismiss the ‘implausible’ breach involving low-tech devices as a ploy, backing Seoul’s denial that its military was involved.

An image released by North Korean state media that claims to show one of the drones Pyongyang’s military said it had intercepted from South Korea. Photo: KCNA/Handout
Singapore

Could Singapore remove Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition?

Parliament will soon debate a motion to consider whether Singh’s ‘conviction and conduct render him unsuitable to continue’ in the role.

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Singapore’s Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court after his appeal over two charges against him was dismissed on December 4. Photo: Reuters
Singapore’s Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh speaks to the media outside the Supreme Court after his appeal over two charges against him was dismissed on December 4. Photo: Reuters
Bangladesh

India-Bangladesh talks over Ganges waters may turn murky over politics, UN pact

Bangladesh’s election, Hasina’s presence in India and Dhaka’s signing of the UN water convention could complicate the 1996 Ganges agreement.

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The Philippines

Why the Philippines is taking control of undersea cable security

The moves will help strengthen regional stability and prevent Indo-Pacific connectivity from being quietly weaponised, analysts say.

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
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