Asia - South China Morning Post

The Philippines’ claim that it is now among the middle tier of Southeast Asian maritime powers after two decades of modernisation has come into question, with analysts saying that its navy still lacks enough firepower and reach to match regional rivals.

Rear Admiral Joe Anthony C. Orbe, commander of the Philippine Fleet, told reporters on Tuesday that the country’s navy had attained the status of a “middle power” in Southeast Asia as it marked its 128th anniversary this month.

“We are on par...

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held their fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, underscoring the need for greater cooperation between the historical Asian rivals amid global challenges, including the Iran war.

Lee hosted Takaichi in his hometown of Andong, a southeastern South Korean city famous for its centuries-old traditional folk village, a Unesco World Heritage site. In January, the two met in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, an ancient...

Indonesian officials have moved to reassure markets that the country’s economic fundamentals remain sound after the rupiah sank to a record low, but President Prabowo Subianto’s attempts to play down the currency’s slide has attracted criticism from economists and social media users alike.

The rupiah fell to 17,720 per US dollar on Tuesday, cementing its status as one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies this year.

Indonesia’s main stock index, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), tumbled 3.46...

Finnish divers on Tuesday recovered the bodies of two of the four remaining Italians who died deep inside an underwater cave in an atoll in the Maldives, an official said.

The bodies were located on Monday, when searches resumed after being suspended following the death of a local military diver during a perilous mission to try to reach them.

Five Italian divers went missing on Thursday, with one of the bodies recovered earlier. The plan is to recover the remaining two bodies on Wednesday.

The...

The AI-driven “super cycle” in memory chips may lose momentum by 2028 as Chinese chipmakers aggressively expand production and global tech firms curb spending, a Samsung Electronics executive adviser said.

“South Korea’s memory chip industry is performing very strongly this year and some forecasts suggest conditions could improve further next year,” adviser Kyung Kye-hyun said at a forum hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. “But caution is needed for 2027, particularly...

Japan’s Type 88 surface-to-ship missile entered service decades ago and is already being retired in favour of a more capable successor, yet the prospect of Tokyo transferring the ageing system to the Philippines has stirred a debate that reaches far beyond its modest specifications.

Manila expressed interest in acquiring the Type 88 around the same time as Japanese forces were demonstrating the missile’s firepower at joint drills with American and Philippine troops, according to Tokyo-based...

Indonesian authorities, including the military, used online disinformation campaigns to brand activists and ⁠journalists as “foreign agents” and silence dissent, ⁠sometimes leading to physical threats, Amnesty International said ⁠in a report released on Tuesday.

Amnesty’s findings reflect growing concerns that Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, is backsliding towards army rule under President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander, who has expanded the military’s role...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is considering calling a snap election before a mounting fuel subsidy crisis forces him to make spending cuts that would strip him of the conditions needed to win one.

A national vote is not due until early 2028, but the political logic of going early is becoming harder to dismiss. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance is fraying at the edges, coalition partner Barisan Nasional has announced it will contest the coming Johor state poll alone, and two of his...

Indonesia has proposed hosting an Asean oil storage hub to reinforce the region’s emergency fuel reserves, as supply disruptions from the Middle East lay bare the region’s vulnerability to energy shocks.

But analysts say the plan, while attractive in principle, is likely to be hampered by political distrust, uneven national priorities and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ record of rolling out regional mechanisms that are rarely tested under pressure.

Indonesian Energy Minister Bahlil...

Asian airlines need government support to cope with the more than doubling of jet fuel prices that otherwise risks some carriers collapsing like US-based Spirit Airlines, according to the new head of the region’s industry body.

Wong Hong, who took over as director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines last month, said carriers needed varying levels of help and relief, from direct financial support to being able to cut flight schedules without negative consequences.

“Nobody wants to...