Asia - South China Morning Post

Japan and the Philippines signed a defence pact on Thursday that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters.

Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with Beijing, which was angered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that potential mainland Chinese action against...

The announcement that BTS will return to Malaysia after more than a decade has sent K-pop fans into a frenzy, with many calling it a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

The South Korean supergroup will stage two concerts in Kuala Lumpur on December 12 and 13, marking its first appearance in the country since 2015, when it performed its Red Bullet Tour at Mega Star Arena.

This will also be BTS’ first-ever concert in Kuala Lumpur as its previous Malaysia performance was held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

For...

US President Donald Trump’s backing for a Senate bill that would allow tariffs of up to 500 per cent on goods from countries buying Russian oil has raised the prospect of a near-freeze in trade between India and its largest export market, as New Delhi continues to absorb steep US duties imposed last year.

Trump last week gave the green light to the proposal, which targets any country that continues to buy Russian oil, petroleum products or uranium, a move seen as part of Washington’s effort to...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s bid to strengthen her slim parliamentary majority through a widely expected snap election has grown riskier after the country’s largest opposition party struck an alliance with a former ruling coalition partner.

The new alliance between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito, announced on Thursday, complicates Takaichi’s bet that she will be able to significantly build on her razor-thin majority in the lower house of...

On January 17, a quiet revolution will take place across around two-thirds of the world’s oceans. A landmark United Nations agreement known as the High Seas Treaty will formally enter into force, creating the first legally binding global framework to protect marine biodiversity in international waters.

For the first time, activities beyond national jurisdictions – from industrial fishing to deep-sea mining and bio-prospecting – will be subject to environmental impact assessments, marine...

Cambodia’s arrest of alleged scam centre kingpin Chen Zhi and his extradition to China is “not the end” of ‍the Southeast Asian nation’s battle to stamp out transborder crimes, its foreign minister said.

Last week’s surprise arrest of Chinese-born Chen is a key step in an until now fragmented international campaign targeting sophisticated scam networks in Southeast Asia run by criminal gangs, swindling victims worldwide out of billions of dollars.

The extradition of Chen, sanctioned by ⁠several...

A Singapore court has sentenced a 38-year-old Malaysian man to 12 years in prison and 15 strokes of the cane for posing online as a wealthy Caucasian “sugar daddy” and coercing women into sex while extorting money with threats to release explicit material.

The man, Rajwant Singh Gill Narajan Singh, was convicted of two counts of cheating and one count each of extortion and attempted extortion involving two victims, identified in court documents as PW1 and PW2.

“By his horrific and perverse...

Singapore’s parliamentarians on Wednesday voted Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh unsuitable as Leader of the Opposition following his court conviction for lying to a committee, with his opponents questioning his integrity and leadership, while supporters suggested there was a political agenda against him.

The heated discussion in Singapore’s typically sterile parliament, which saw WP MPs repeatedly calling points of order, centred on Leader of the House Indranee Rajah’s motion calling on...

A police complaint against one of Indonesia’s best-known comedians has reignited debate over satire, blasphemy and free expression in the world’s third-largest democracy.

The case involves 46-year-old stand-up comic and actor Pandji Pragiwaksono, whose Netflix special Mens Rea – an unfiltered performance touching on politics, law and democracy – was recorded in Jakarta before an audience of around 10,000 people on December 30.

Pandji’s routine pokes fun at Indonesia’s political elite, taking aim...

The summit between South Korea and Japan has exposed a growing divergence in how the two neighbours are responding to a more volatile regional order, as supply chains harden into strategic tools and great-power rivalry sharpens, analysts have said.

During a meeting in Nara, the hometown and electoral district of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pressed the case for broader regional cooperation that included China, while Tokyo emphasised closer...