Asia - South China Morning Post

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,...

Indonesia has responded to the arrest of two Australian citizens accused of trying to arm Papuan separatist fighters, warning that it would not tolerate threats to its territorial integrity and calling for closer coordination with Canberra to investigate cross-border arms networks.

The remarks came after the Australian Federal Police last week charged a 64-year-old man from New South Wales and a 44-year-old man from Queensland with conspiring to export firearms and ammunition to the West Papua...

Southeast Asia’s economies need to quickly open new markets for their exports through trade groups such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), experts say, as US tariffs begin to bite.

Economic ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will meet in Kuala Lumpur next week to discuss the way ahead, weeks after US tariffs of between 10 and 40 per cent on their exports took effect.

They will meet RCEP counterparts during the week-long meeting, and...

The marigold garlands wilted in the Kathmandu heat, draped over coffins that bore the weight of a nation’s grief. Inside one lay Mahesh Budhathoki, a young man who left home to protest against corruption – and never returned.

The 22-year-old was one of dozens killed when police opened fire during mass anti-corruption protests led by Nepal’s Generation Z.

At least 73 people were killed in the demonstrations, which turned violent as protesters surged towards the parliament building in the nation’s...

A 31-year-old man was charged on Friday with repeatedly abusing a baby he was looking after by choking him, stepping on his face, pushing his head into a pail of water and hanging him on a hanger in a cupboard.

The Singaporean man cannot be named due to a gag order on his identity and the victim’s, but the case was classified as a domestic violence case. Their relationship was not specified.

He was given about 30 charges of child abuse, mostly at a flat in July and August 2024 when the baby was...