Asia - South China Morning Post

Online travel booking platform Agoda apologised for including “inappropriate” language as part of severance agreements in Singapore, after drawing criticism for warning laid-off staff not to raise the matter to authorities or labour unions.

Agoda met Singapore’s labour bodies and the Ministry of Manpower to “discuss and address the concerns raised over our severance agreements”, it said in a statement on Friday.

“We acknowledge that it is inappropriate for employers to include provisions that...

Pony.ai will deploy robotaxis in Singapore in the coming months, as the Chinese autonomous driving technology company takes a tentative step to expand into Southeast Asia’s mass transport market.

The Guangzhou-based company, one of mainland China’s top three robotaxi operators, said on Saturday that it would team up with Singapore’s taxi fleet operator ComfortDelGro to introduce autonomous mobility services to the city state “in the coming months”.

“By delivering safe, comfortable and efficient...

The United States is backing Japan’s entry into the Aukus security pact, with analysts calling it a long-overdue move to harness Tokyo’s advanced defence technology and bolster Western military cooperation with a key ally in the Indo-Pacific.

Quoting an unpublished US State Department report to Congress, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Washington had a “positive assessment” of Japan joining the trilateral alliance, which was formed in 2021 between the US, Britain and Australia.

Pillar One of...

As tariffs change trade patterns and roil global supply chains, corporate Japan is dealing with it the best way it knows how: by getting executives in the air.

Home carriers Japan Airlines and ANA are reaping the biggest benefits, as increased premium demand for long-haul flights is boosting sales.

Outbound business travel has picked up since US President Donald Trump set out to reshape the global order of commerce with a first salvo of tariffs announced back in April.

The number of Japanese...

South Korea’s prime minister has ordered a clampdown on anti-China demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy, amid warnings that such protests could derail Seoul’s efforts to reset ties with Beijing.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Friday directed law enforcement to “take strong action” against the increasingly disruptive rallies, which had led to merchants and residents complaining of noise, abuse and declining tourist traffic.

Kim told police to “closely monitor the protests, and do everything...

Russia has filed an appeal with the International Court of Justice over a decision deeming Moscow responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people, the court said on Friday.

Australia and the Netherlands, the countries with the most fatalities in the disaster, had launched the case, calling for Russia to assume responsibility for the downing and pay damages.

On July 17, 2014, the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala...

A trade fair in the southern Chinese city of Nanning has become a testing ground for exporters shifting their focus to Southeast Asia.

Attracted by the region’s fast-growing economies and young consumers – and facing slowing demand in the West – many Chinese companies see the annual event as a potential gateway to court buyers and expand their overseas footprints.

Li Wenqi, a manager at an electric scooter and battery manufacturer in Jiangxi province, is among the exporters seeking new...

Depending on who you ask, Anwar Ibrahim is either on a mission to liberate Malaysia from decades of corruption or settling old political scores under the guise of reform.

The latest target of the prime minister’s anti-graft investigators? His 100-year-old arch rival and former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission recently disclosed that British authorities were assisting with its more than year-long investigation into assets allegedly linked to Mahathir, who twice...

Southeast Asian countries should not be judged harshly on their shifting positions amid the heightened US-China rivalry, Singapore’s top diplomat has said, while emphasising unique “vulnerabilities and opportunities” across the region.

Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told the FutureChina Global Forum on Friday to avoid binary thinking, stressing that the city state was open for business to all, with China as its biggest trading partner and the United States its largest foreign...

The Philippines’ new acting transport secretary has likened his ride in an overcrowded bus in Manila recently to “going to war”, prompting him to order his officials to commute weekly on the country’s public transport system so they can experience the daily ordeal of Filipinos.

The highly publicised move has drawn praise from some advocacy groups, but also brickbats from critics who argue it amounts to political theatre that sidesteps deeper transport and infrastructure failures.

Giovanni Lopez,...