Asia - South China Morning Post

Thailand’s new prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, presented his policy platform on Monday, with quick-fix measures to ease the rising cost of living as well as promises to win back tourists, while committing to dissolving parliament in just four months to end the country’s political stalemate.

The country’s third prime minister in two years faces twin challenges: economic woes exacerbated by a stubbornly strong baht and a security threat as the ceasefire with Cambodia threatens to...

The office of Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on Monday restored access for a CNN Indonesia journalist, Diana Valencia. It had earlier revoked Valencia’s pass after she had asked the leader about a troubled free meal programme, sparking concerns about press freedom.

CNN Indonesia editor-in-chief Titin Rosmasari met the Indonesian palace and confirmed Valencia’s access had been restored, CNN Indonesia reported. The palace had apologised for the revocation and said it would not be repeated,...

The world football governing body Fifa has ignited public outrage in Malaysia after imposing a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (US$440,000) and a one-year ban on seven footballers for the alleged falsification of nationality documents, with pundits fuelling speculation of the involvement of regional rivals in making the complaint.

The sanctions were levied against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) last Friday after Fifa claimed the association submitted doctored documents to field seven...

When Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defence agreement earlier this month, it was widely interpreted as a gesture of Muslim unity in a region roiled by crisis.

But its reverberations are already being felt among policymakers in Pakistan’s perennial rival India, threatening to complicate New Delhi’s delicate diplomatic balancing act in the Gulf.

The agreement, signed in Riyadh on September 17, declares that aggression against either signatory “shall be considered aggression against...

Hundreds of South Korean public services remained offline on Monday after a fire at a data centre disrupted government websites and exposed vulnerabilities in the country’s digital infrastructure.

Authorities said 62 government services had been restored out of 647 systems affected by the fire which broke out during routine maintenance in a server room at the state-run National Information Resources Service in Daejeon on Friday.

President Lee Jae-myung has apologised for the disruption, saying...

East Timor’s recalibration of its stance on Myanmar’s military regime has drawn both scrutiny and intrigue across Southeast Asia, as Dili seeks to smooth its path into Asean ahead of next month’s summit.

Once a vocal critic of Myanmar’s junta, which came to power in a 2021 coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and plunged the country into civil conflict, East Timor has in recent weeks taken a markedly softer line.

Dili reportedly assured the junta earlier this month it...

Typhoon Bualoi made landfall in northern central Vietnam in the early hours of Monday, damaging houses and knocking out power grids, with at least nine people dead and 17 missing as the storm brought flooding rains and huge swells.

By 11am, the typhoon was moving over Nghe An province into Laos, with maximum wind speeds weakening to 74km/h (47 mph) from 117km/h when it made landfall, the weather agency said.

State media said rescue teams were searching for 17 missing fishermen.

Before making...

Australian telco Optus said on Monday that it had suffered an emergency call outage in an area south of Sydney, 10 days after a broader disruption that it said had probably caused four deaths when customers were unable to get timely aid.

The Australian government has been seeking answers about the disruptions at the country’s No 2 telecom, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel).

Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon plans to meet Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells this...

A pledge between the Philippines and Vietnam to deepen naval cooperation could serve as a “model for maritime collaboration” amid mounting tensions in the South China Sea, according to observers.

Philippine Navy chief Vice-Admiral Jose Maria Ambrosio Ezpeleta and his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Thanh Nghiem met last week in Manila, where they reaffirmed their commitment to conducting joint activities, humanitarian coordination and regional maritime security.

“We are maritime neighbours with...

As Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party begins the process of selecting a new leader – and by extension, the country’s next prime minister – the race is quickly shaping into a duel between a conservative heir to Shinzo Abe’s legacy and a reformist standard-bearer promising broader appeal within the divided party.

The party’s internal election on October 4 follows Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation after barely a year in office, with the winner expected to assume leadership through a...