Asia - South China Morning Post

A new wave of US tariffs that hit seven Southeast Asian countries is set to reinforce perceptions of Washington as an unreliable partner to the region, according to analysts.

Citing what it said were forced labour practices uncovered in its latest investigations, the US on Thursday imposed levies ranging from 10 to 12.5 per cent on 60 economies – with the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam the hardest hit among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.

Malaysia, Indonesia and...

Malaysian police have received a report against Perikatan Nasional election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor over remarks allegedly made during a speech while campaigning for the Negeri Sembilan election.

Negeri Sembilan police chief Alzafny Ahmad said the report was lodged by a 40-year-old man at the Bandar Seri Jempol police station on Friday.

“The complainant was ­unhappy with a news report published by an online portal regarding a ­speech by the Kedah chief minister,” he said in a statement...

Across Myanmar, the statues are vanishing one by one. Military-backed authorities blame “incorrect proportions and shapes”. Unofficially, analysts see a deliberate attempt to erase the presence of independence hero Aung San from public life – and with it, the legitimacy of the elected government the junta overthrew.

Revered as the country’s founding father, Aung San founded its military, united its diverse ethnic groups and spearheaded the nationalist movement that ultimately wrested...

Indonesia wants to build a financial centre to rival Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai, but analysts say the real work of persuading global investors has barely begun.

Parliament’s passage of the enabling legislation on Tuesday laid the legal foundation for the hub, marking a milestone in President Prabowo Subianto’s push to attract more foreign capital into Southeast Asia’s largest economy and lift growth towards 8 per cent by the end of his term in 2029.

Yet observers caution that the centre,...

A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factory is expected to be the Japan centre for the development and assembly of the next-generation fighter jet to be produced by Japan, Britain and Italy, sources close to the matter said on Saturday.

The three members of the trilateral Global Combat Air Program are discussing the roles each will play in the design and manufacture of the jet, with Britain to set up its centre in Warton and Italy in Turin, according to the sources.

The Japanese centre will be set up...

India’s education minister resigned on Saturday after coming under intense pressure from young protesters, with outrage over leaked examination questions compounded by discontent with the job market and government.

Hours after the resignation, protesters agreed to ‌end their protest, a spokesperson of the “cockroach” ⁠movement said ‌after talks with ‌the government on Saturday.

“Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar [protest site] and across the country, so that...

Heatwaves come and go, and while this is happening with increasing frequency and intensity – as this year’s record-breaking temperatures show – they slip from attention once things cool off. What does not disappear is the lasting and costly damage they do to the basic infrastructure we rely on in our daily lives.

Ultra-hot days and nights can result in the deaths of many people (those who cannot afford air conditioning especially) and they ignite forest infernos of terrifying intensity. Some of...

Ukraine hopes to gain support from Japan as it looks to produce Patriot air defence systems under US licence, citing the expertise of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that manufactures the interceptors for the Japanese defence forces, according to an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We maintain political dialogue” towards seeking cooperation from Japan, which is one of the few countries granted a licence to build the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, Sergiy Kyslytsya, first...

Japan has been establishing dialogue frameworks for artificial intelligence with like-minded countries and Global South partners to reduce reliance on top US and Chinese firms and promote domestic companies abroad.

The outreach signals a growing recognition among those countries of the need for cooperation, rather than going it alone, to survive in the increasingly competitive field of AI. At home, Japan is seeking to foster its own domestic AI ecosystem.

The move by the United States to...

By day, Adele Lee juggles schedules and administrative work as a personal assistant to a senior director at a financial advisory firm.

Three evenings a week, the 32-year-old logs back on, this time to sell second-hand clothes through TikTok livestreams, fielding questions from viewers and packing orders herself after the broadcast ends.

The side hustle brings in about S$500 (US$390) a month, supplementing her monthly salary of almost S$4,000. The extra cash helps pay for her insurance premiums...