Asia - South China Morning Post

Inspired by the success that Ukraine has had in fooling Russian forces on the battlefield, Japan is reportedly buying more inflatable dummy weapons systems, a move observers say is also embedded in Tokyo’s fighting history.

Vehicle News reported on Friday that Japan’s Defence Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency announced last month a public tender for “balloon decoys” that would have to be delivered to an aircraft factory operated by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Gifu Prefecture,...

North Korea has rolled out what it calls “the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon”, showcasing its new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to Pyongyang’s state media on Saturday.

At a massive military parade featuring the new solid-fuel missile and other weapons, leader Kim Jong-un declared that sovereignty could be secured only through military might.

“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats … by dint of its political,...

When Indian engineer Meetesh Bhatt first began tinkering with artificial intelligence during his college years in Pune, the technology was little more than an academic curiosity.

Back then, he could scarcely imagine that one day it would transform his family’s small property business. But a few years later, the 28-year-old is now using AI to shake up the Indian real estate sector.

“As a millennial, it excites me,” he told This Week in Asia, describing how the technology had helped the firm...

In what Martin Wolf at the Financial Times called “pure gangsterism”, US President Donald Trump has extracted pledged investments of at least US$1.5 trillion from America’s trading partners. This amounts to the Marshall Plan in reverse.

The scheme Washington initiated in 1947 essentially provided economic aid to Europe and later Japan. Of the US$13 billion provided, 90 per cent were grants. But in the US-Japan trade deal, seen as a political trophy for Trump, money will flow in the other...

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, charged with crimes against humanity, will remain in custody after the International Criminal Court on Friday rejected a request from his defence team for release on medical grounds.

ICC judges ruled that Duterte posed a flight risk and could be in a position to influence witnesses if freed, arguing that this outweighed any medical problems suffered by the 80-year-old.

“The Chamber finds that Mr Duterte’s detention continues to remain necessary,” the...

Malaysia’s government on Friday pledged to build more hospitals, upgrade airports, expand rural digital access and help youth boost their income, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled a record budget with an eye on coming state elections.

Anwar’s administration plans to spend a total of 470 billion ringgit (US$111.4 billion) next year – up nearly 4 per cent from this year – part of which will go towards upgrading rural infrastructure, helping start-ups and encouraging entrepreneurship among...

Leaders in Asia have welcomed the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, hailing it as a turning point in the Gaza conflict while cautioning that deeper challenges lie ahead for lasting peace to materialise.

The initial agreement, announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, includes a pause in fighting and the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees. Trump said he planned to travel to Egypt for the agreement’s formal signing, while the White House confirmed...

For developing nations, the storm clouds of deglobalisation and climate change grow darker by the day. These challenges demand an increasingly prominent role for the state, not only as a buffer against the economic shocks that disproportionately harm the most vulnerable but also as an architect of resilience.

Governments in poorer countries must fund vast investments in infrastructure, sustainable energy, healthcare and education to inject dynamism into their economies. But the unresolved...

Japan’s ruling coalition collapsed on Friday as junior partner Komeito quit the alliance, putting in peril Sanae Takaichi’s bid to become the country’s first woman prime minister.

Takaichi became head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) less than a week ago, and had been expected to be approved by parliament as premier this month.

But Komeito’s decision to end the alliance that has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for 25 years has plunged Japan into a new political crisis.

The yen dropped...

A decision by a unit of the largest lawyers’ group in the Philippines to honour former president Rodrigo Duterte with an award to recognise his decades of legal service has ignited fierce backlash, with critics calling it an affront to the thousands killed during his bloody war on drugs.

While legal experts noted the award was a routine procedure, rights advocates have slammed it as deeply inappropriate given Duterte’s ongoing detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the gravity...