Asia - South China Morning Post

Dozens of oil tankers suspected of smuggling contraband crude for Russia and Iran have been using a beachside office in the tropical South Pacific to cover their tracks, an analysis of sanctions data has revealed.

Nestled next to a pizza shop in the far-flung Cook Islands is the modest headquarters of one of the fastest-growing shipping registries in the world.

Without ever setting foot in the palm-fringed microstate, foreign shipowners can pay Maritime Cook Islands to sail under its...

When South Korea’s leader declared martial law a year ago, one young woman blocked a tank, a civil servant resigned in protest and a lawmaker switched sides to remove him from office.

They are among the many South Koreans whose lives were transformed on December 3, 2024.

That wintry night, then president Yoon Suk-yeol interrupted national television broadcasts to suspend civilian rule for the first time in more than four decades.

Soldiers and tanks deployed in central Seoul. Troops landed by...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter was thrust back into the spotlight late last week at a military spectacle that analysts say was as much about succession planning and extracting concessions from Russia as it was about unveiling new missiles.

Ostensibly held to mark the 80th anniversary of the North Korean air force, the ceremony on Friday seemingly served two other purposes: pressing Russia for advanced military technology in return for Pyongyang’s help in the Ukraine war, and acting...

A PhD student who attempted to rape his former housemate after his repeated advances were rejected was sentenced to jail and caning in Singapore on Monday.

Gao Xiong, a 31-year-old Chinese national, will be imprisoned for six years, six months and six weeks, and receive three strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to four charges which include attempted rape and criminal trespass, with another three charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that Gao was completing his PhD studies in...

The United States’ new ambassador to Singapore has come under fire for his remarks defending the 10 per cent tariff on the city state by framing it as the US seeking help from a friend after it had played an important role in Singapore’s economic miracle.

Orthopaedic surgeon Anjani Sinha, who officially started his tenure on November 17, told government-funded local media outlet The Straits Times that the US was asking friends such as Singapore to help President Donald Trump “rebalance” and...

The International Criminal Court’s ruling that Rodrigo Duterte is too politically connected to be trusted on interim release – citing his entrenched networks and even a “joke” from his daughter about breaking him out – has entwined the former president’s legal predicament with the political dynamics shaping the 2028 race.

Analysts told This Week in Asia that the decision has narrowed the 80-year-old’s room for political manoeuvre while potentially strengthening, under some circumstances, the...

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces a more complex political landscape ahead after his coalition was routed in Sabah’s polls, as analysts warn he would need to craft a compelling narrative to win over voters ahead of the next general election.

Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a single seat of the 73 up for grabs in Saturday’s election, from his own Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a stinging rebuke to a government perceived to have failed to fix Sabah’s perennial problems, ranging from...

Oysters in Japan are dying en masse in parts of the country’s top production area, likely due to warmer sea temperatures, officials said on Monday.

In some coastal areas surrounding the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan – an area that accounts for more than three quarters of Japan’s farmed oyster production – around 90 per cent of cultivated oysters are dead.

“I’ve never experienced this in my whole career,” said Tatsuya Morio, who has farmed oysters for more than 20 years.

Shoichi Yokouchi, an...

Raids on men-only saunas and spas across Malaysia have raised fears of an intensifying crackdown on LGBTQ communities, in what activists view as a steadily illiberal turn under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government.

While officials defend such operations as necessary to uphold Malaysian law and Islamic principles, rights advocates said the latest raids fit a pattern of punitive policing that is driving gay communities further underground and deterring them from seeking health services.

On...

Russia’s accusation that the United States and Germany are recruiting Filipino mercenaries to fight in Ukraine is almost certainly disinformation, analysts say.

Yet the claim exposes how easily Southeast Asian nations can be drawn into the information crossfire of global conflicts – becoming unwitting pawns in great-power narratives that shape opinions far beyond the battlefield.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that “US representatives” had enlisted Filipinos to join...