Asia - South China Morning Post

Singapore’s Union of Security Employees (USE) said on Thursday that it “stands firmly behind” the security guards involved in a confrontation with a Hong Kong school principal in which he swore at them.

The secondary school principal, Lee Cheuk‑hing, who was on a trip to Singapore with a group of students, was seen arguing with the guards over a parking matter at SAFRA Jurong, a recreational club, in a video widely circulated on social media.

Lee has since tendered his resignation from San Wui...

Indonesia lost nearly US$1 trillion in resource wealth over a 34-year period due to deceptive trade practices, President Prabowo Subianto declared in parliament on May 20.

That same day, a set of new export controls was unveiled. Foreign-exchange earnings would be locked in Indonesian banks for a prescribed time limit and producers of coal, palm oil and ferroalloys would be required to route sales through a new state-owned enterprise.

But barely had the ink dried on the new rules when talk of...

The upgrading of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan underscores how the allies are future-proofing their ties amid growing uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific, analysts say.

“This milestone reflects the strength, depth and breadth of our ties as we respond to the evolving challenges and opportunities of our time,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Thursday at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo.

The talks also...

A recent controversy surrounding a surau (prayer hall) in Malaysia appeared straightforward at first. A resident of Taman Seraya, Selangor state, raised concerns about the noise and congestion, particularly during prayer times. Police subsequently investigated the complaint as an attempt to incite provocation and disrupt social harmony.

The surau management’s escalation of the complaint to alleged harassment – and the subsequent police report – reflects the persistent challenge of managing...

Recent moves by companies such as Gardenia and H&M to shift some operations from Singapore across the Causeway have put the spotlight on Malaysia’s growing appeal as a more affordable base for businesses facing high costs and a tight labour market in the city state.

But while the trend may look like an easy win for its neighbour – bringing investment, jobs and spillover opportunities – analysts say the gains could come with trade-offs, as an influx of firms drives up competition for skilled...

The goodbye emails started arriving on a Monday. By Friday, Sheila’s inbox told the story of an organisation coming apart at the seams, one farewell at a time.

Sheila* had spent nearly a decade helping run US-funded development projects in the Philippines. She had watched them grow, hire staff and take root in local communities.

When Washington ordered a freeze on foreign aid in January 2025, she told herself it was just a pause – a bureaucratic blip pending a review by the new...

When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr accepted the Asean gavel from Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur last October, the script was already written: a packed agenda, South China Sea diplomacy in the spotlight and a regional digital economy deal to clinch. Then the world changed.

On February 28, US and Israeli forces struck Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, an artery of global shipping through which 98 per cent of the Philippines’ crude oil imports travel, became a war zone....

Vietnam’s leader To Lam on Friday struck a sombre tone at a summit when he warned of three foundational crises converging to cause global instabilities – those of international order, development models and strategic trust.

He was delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defence forum, in his first speech on Vietnam’s foreign policy to an international audience since being elected president in April.

Speaking to defence ministers, military chiefs,...

A Philippine anti-corruption court ordered the arrest of a prominent senator on Friday over allegations he pocketed a kickback of millions of dollars in a flood-control project, in the latest crisis to entangle the Senate.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada surrendered and posted bail before the Sandiganbayan court, allowing him to remain free while the case proceeds.

The court barred Estrada from leaving the country while facing the first of two corruption-related charges in relation to the flood control...

Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, but as Vietnamese President and Communist Party leader To Lam heads to Manila next week, analysts say the two neighbours are increasingly focused on what they can do together rather than what divides them.

Lam’s two-day state visit on Sunday and Monday comes as both countries mark 50 years of diplomatic relations and a decade of strategic partnership, with Manila and Hanoi seeking to deepen cooperation on trade, food...