Asia - South China Morning Post

South Korea’s economy faces uncertainties from rising inflation, a weakening won and uneven performance across sectors, even as it grows stronger than expected this year, according to analysts.

The Bank of Korea on Thursday revised its economic growth outlook for this year to 2.6 per cent, up 0.6 percentage points from its forecast three months ago, citing robust exports driven by booming semiconductor demand and government supplementary spending aimed at offsetting the shocks from the Middle...

Recent articles in an Asia-focused international policy forum suggest that states such as Australia, Canada and South Korea can join up with other middle powers to secure the maritime order and restore the liberal international order. While well meaning and encouraging, the unfortunate truth is that these tasks are beyond the capacity of middle powers. The smartest ones won’t even try.

Maritime security has transformed from a permissive environment dominated by uncontested naval supremacy into a...

For many years, India was a key training ground for many of Bangladesh’s senior officials, as well as a source of support and regional guidance. Now, some are being trained in Pakistan, a symbolic shift that has unsettled New Delhi and offered an early clue to how Dhaka’s new government wants to deal with its neighbours.

A delegation of 12 senior Bangladeshi bureaucrats attended an executive training programme at the Civil Services Academy in Lahore from May 4 to May 21, a move analysts said...

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of former leader Rodrigo Duterte, has long looked like the politician to beat in the Philippines’ 2028 presidential race, with one of the country’s most powerful political brands behind her, a loyal base in Mindanao and early polls showing her ahead of potential rivals.

But two prominent pollsters say her lead is not impregnable.

According to Dr Ranjit Rye, founding president of OCTA Research, and Ronnie Holmes, president of Pulse Asia Research...

Oslo’s ban on a missile system for Malaysian warships may lead to further bottlenecks in the country’s crucial naval modernisation project due to a scramble for a replacement and hamper its capability to counter vessels encroaching on its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, according to analysts.

The Malaysian navy has spent more than a decade waiting for its new littoral combat ships (LCS), a flagship upgrade meant to enhance its presence in the contested waters.

A dispute over...

A Philippine senator and son of a ⁠former president could ⁠soon face arrest after an ⁠anti-corruption body charged him on Thursday with receiving illicit payouts in an infrastructure scandal that has slowed economic growth and hammered consumer and investor confidence.

The Office of the Ombudsman said Senator Jose “Jinggoy” ‌Estrada has been indicted for plunder and violating anti-corruption laws after he earned “kickbacks” amounting to 573 million pesos (US$9.3 million) from a scheme that...

South Korean religious groups, universities and public institutions are offering free or affordable accommodation options for BTS fans who have become targets of price gouging ahead of the supergroup’s June concerts in Busan, but supply remains limited, leaving many to stick with their existing plans.

Busan is hosting BTS’ June 12 and 13 concerts as part of its “Arirang” world tour. As June 13 is also the K-pop group’s 13th debut anniversary and the first in many years after their historic...

Senators seeking to lock impeached Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte out of politics for good may face an uphill battle with one of her staunchest supporters calling the movement against her family “insane and wicked”.

Senator Imee Marcos, the older sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, said it was a “tragedy” that her own family had been given a second chance and “instead of grabbing it and leveraging it into great development and prosperity for the Filipino people, we’ve just wasted...

Vietnam’s globetrotting leader To Lam began his first trip to Thailand with trade and security talks dominating the agenda, as well as a symbolic visit to the former home of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of modern Vietnam who once lived in the northeast of the kingdom.

To Lam, the president and general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, is seen by many as the country’s most powerful leader since the era of Ho Chi Minh.

The former secret policeman has been zipping across global capitals as he...

A partnership between Japan Airlines and a space start-up marks the first step for the carrier to explore diversification beyond Earth-bound aviation, potentially boosting Japan’s ambition to expand its footprint on the moon.

The airline is teaming up with ispace to transport items of “precious cultural heritage and human activities” via a lander craft to the moon and protect them from the effects of climate change, natural disasters and conflict on Earth.

“In the rapidly changing world, there...