Asia - South China Morning Post

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...

An advocacy group representing Filipino victims of wartime sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers will renew its decades-old demand for a formal state apology and reparations as Japan’s foreign minister visits the Philippines this week.

The group, Lila Pilipina (League of Filipino Grandmothers), said it plans to press its appeal during the visit of Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who is set to arrive on Thursday.

“We demand a formal public apology and reparation based on the apology,” said...

A visit by the Philippines’ foreign minister to Myanmar has raised concerns over how Asean will be perceived under Manila’s chairmanship this year, with critics arguing it risks appearing as tacit support for the junta amid an election widely condemned as a sham.

Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other junta leaders in Naypyidaw on January 6 in her capacity as special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ 2026 chair, according to official...

Chinese tourist numbers are recovering across Asia after a pandemic-era contraction, buoyed by the expansion of visa-free policies and a stronger yuan. But one thing has not returned: the spending sprees that used to boost duty-free retailers around the world.

The trend can be clearly seen in South Korea, which relied on Chinese travellers for 70 per cent of its duty-free sales before Covid-19. Around 5 million visitors from China arrived in the country during the first 11 months of 2025, a...

South Korea’s exports of food and agriculture-related products, referred to as “K-food Plus”, hit a record annual high of US$13.62 billion in 2025.

The country’s Agriculture Ministry also reported on Monday that Korean ramyeon or instant noodles posted the largest export gains, surpassing US$1.5 billion.

The surge came amid the runaway success of KPop Demon Hunters, which ended 2025 as the most-watched film ever for the Netflix streaming platform.

The man who was caught on video pumping subsidised RON95 fuel into his Singapore-registered car in Johor was on Wednesday fined 9,000 ringgit (US$2,217) for obstructing the registration number of his vehicle.

Malaysian Long Sa Kow, who is a Singapore permanent resident, was charged under Section 108 (3) (E) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for allegedly exhibiting an altered or tampered vehicle registration number.

The offence carries a fine of between 5,000 ringgit and 20,000 ringgit, a prison...

A crane at a China-backed high-speed railway project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train on Wednesday and caused it to derail, killing at least 32 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.

The accident occurred in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on a train from the capital bound for ⁠Ubon Ratchathani province.

Footage from the scene showed the broken crane resting on concrete pillars above the smoking wreckage of the...

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters rebuked the country’s new Reserve Bank governor, Anna Breman, for wading into US domestic politics after she signed a statement with other global central bankers backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“The RBNZ has no role, nor should it involve itself, in US domestic politics. We remind the governor to stay in her New Zealand lane and stick to domestic monetary policy,” Peters said on social media.

He added that the Ministry of Foreign...

When prosecutors in South Korea demanded the death penalty for ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, he shook his head in disbelief and let out a contemptuous laugh – a moment that encapsulated his defiant posture throughout nine months of hearings.

Yoon stands accused of being the “ringleader” of an insurrection stemming from his failed martial law bid in 2024 that plunged the country into political chaos.

The public gallery, packed with Yoon’s supporters, erupted into protests, forcing the presiding...

Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city state with high prices and little vacant land.

The to-be agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbours, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is...