Asia - South China Morning Post

Malaysia has raised the alarm over potential misuse of subsidised petrol in its states bordering Thailand, with data showing some motorists rapidly exhausting their monthly quotas – raising suspicions that a new fuel aid scheme is being exploited to feed smuggling networks.

Under the Budi95 scheme that was rolled out nationwide on September 27, eligible Malaysians pay 1.99 ringgit (42 US cents) per litre for RON95 petrol instead of the unsubsidised 2.60 ringgit.

The subsided amount of fuel is...

Myanmar’s junta raided one of the country’s most notorious internet scam centres and seized Starlink devices, it said on Monday, after an investigation had revealed an explosion in their use in the multibillion-dollar illicit industry.

Internet sweat shops where workers scam unsuspecting foreigners with business or romance schemes have thrived in war-ravaged Myanmar’s lawless border regions since the coronavirus pandemic shut down casinos operating in the area.

A crackdown by Thai, Chinese and...

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Monday that the country would devote a “larger-than-expected budget” in defence and aerospace research until 2030 as it sought to build the world’s fourth-largest defence industry.

Lee was speaking at South Korea’s largest-ever arms fair, the Seoul International Aerospace & Defence Exhibition 2025, where companies showed off new unmanned and artificial intelligence-enhanced weapons from howitzers to suicide drones in pursuit of more global defence...

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India would stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so.

“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they...

Manila and Beijing are working on a coastguard cooperation pact as part of efforts to manage recurring flashpoints in the disputed South China Sea, but observers say the step may not be enough to prevent conflict or build lasting trust.

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro told the Senate on Tuesday last week that the proposed plan aimed to “reach a conclusion … an MOU for them [coastguards] on certain issues that involve both sides”.

Lazaro said she hoped that the...

Bangladeshi traders have been left counting the heavy cost of a devastating fire that tore through the cargo complex of the country’s main international airport this weekend, as the government investigates possible arson.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) gave an initial assessment on Sunday of “devastating” direct and indirect costs of as much as US$1 billion.

Firefighters had brought the blaze under control and flight operations resumed late Saturday,...

A North Korean soldier was taken into custody by the South after he voluntarily crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas on Sunday, Seoul’s military said.

The soldier was seeking to “defect to the South,” a defence ministry official said.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, with most going overland to neighbouring China first, then entering a third country such as Thailand before finally...

Afghanistan and Pakistan, embroiled in fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, pledged on Sunday to respect a ceasefire.

The truce, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, came into effect immediately and is intended to pause hostilities.

Violence has escalated between the neighbours since earlier this month, with each country saying they were responding to aggression from the other. Afghanistan denies harbouring militants who carry out attacks in border areas.

Pakistan is...

A dark tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from a US-sanctioned Russian export plant has positioned itself for a rare open-water fuel transfer off the coast of Malaysia, satellite images show, in a demonstration of the increasingly circuitous routes taken by Moscow to evade Western restrictions.

The Perle, which was sanctioned by the US earlier this year, is currently anchored parallel to another vessel about 90 kilometres (55 miles) east of the Malaysian peninsula, according to Sentinel-2...

A tropical storm lashed the northern and central Philippines on Sunday, leaving at least seven people dead and forcing more than 22,000 people to evacuate from flood- and landslide-prone villages.

Authorities warned that tropical Storm Fengshen may intensify as it heads for China and Vietnam.

The government’s disaster-mitigation agency said seven deaths were reported. Nearly 14,000 people who evacuated were still displaced from their homes by Monday morning, the agency said.

Known locally as...