Asia - South China Morning Post

Storms uprooted trees and ripped roofs across Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur on Monday night, as forecasters warned of a potentially dangerous collision between the seasonal monsoon and La Nina climate phenomenon that could dump more rain over the coming weeks.

The northeast monsoon brings heavy rains and strong winds to Malaysia all the way through March, while La Nina – a Pacific Ocean climate pattern – amplifies rainfall, compounding the power of storms that hit the region.

The...

Indonesia is considering a plan to renegotiate a debt linked to the China-funded Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project, as its operator faces a financial “time bomb” due to ticket sales alone being unable to cover the costs of the high-interest loan.

The rail line, known as Whoosh, connects the capital Jakarta with the city of Bandung in West Java in 45 minutes – much shorter than by car, which can take up to three hours.

The US$7.27 billion project has, however, been dogged by controversies...

US hopes of getting China to place big orders of Boeing jets have risen anew after reports of progress, including a framework agreement on TikTok, at the fourth round of trade negotiations in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

Praising the progress, US President Donald Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Seoul, which starts at the end of next month, and plans to visit China early next year.

But why would China wish to buy US...

Australian officials have demanded answers from Indonesian counterparts after the body of a young man who died on the resort island of Bali was repatriated without his heart.

Queensland man Byron Haddow, 23, was found dead in the plunge pool of his Bali villa this year while on holiday.

His body was returned to Australia four weeks later, where a second autopsy found he was missing his heart.

A spokesperson for Australia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday they were providing consular help to...

An American woman has been deported from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali for allegedly hosting a sex-themed retreat while on a tourist visa, in the latest example of authorities cracking down on foreign nationals flouting immigration rules.

Immigration officials said 44-year-old Jennelle Raynette Gordon, a self-styled “sexpert” from California, had been conducting commercial activities in violation of her visa conditions.

The event, dubbed the “Intimacy Mastery Retreat”, offered classes on...

Japanese troops are set to return to Philippine soil for the first time since World War II after a landmark defence pact took effect this month, in a move analysts say will fast track joint military readiness and entrench Tokyo’s role as a key Indo-Pacific security partner.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Japan and the Philippines entered into force on September 11, over a year after Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa...

Japan said its ship-mounted electromagnetic rail gun has successfully hit a target vessel during a recent test, a key step towards the future deployment of the next-generation weapon capable of shooting projectiles at an extremely high speed.

The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency posted on social media earlier this month that a rail gun installed on the Maritime Self-Defence Force test ship Asuka “succeeded in long-range shooting” at a target ship. The post also included four photos...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. What Indomie carcinogen scare means for instant noodle safety

Indonesia’s beloved Indomie instant noodles are facing renewed scrutiny after Taiwanese regulators detected trace amounts of a banned carcinogen in a popular flavour variant.

2. ‘Naked imperialism’: will...

As the strongest storm of the year hits the Philippines, all eyes are on President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, whose government is facing a torrent of public scrutiny on disaster risk management in the wake of corruption-linked flood control projects.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, known locally as Nando, made landfall on Monday, just a day after the country witnessed protests across cities in which thousands marched to voice outrage at trillions of pesos spent on “ghost” flood control projects and widespread...

A mother in New Zealand was found guilty on Tuesday of killing her two children and stashing their bodies in suitcases after a trial that drew international attention.

Hakyung Lee, 45, was extradited from Seoul in 2022 after the remains of her children were discovered in suitcases that had been left at a storage unit in south Auckland.

Authorities believe they had been dead for three to four years before their bodies were found.

The children, Yuna Jo and Minu Jo, were aged eight and six at the...