Asia - South China Morning Post

Japan and South Korea are closing ranks as they prepare for high-level meetings aimed at steadying ties amid growing regional volatility, with analysts saying the diplomatic push reflects shared concern over China, North Korea and the reliability of US commitments under President Donald Trump.

Both countries appear willing to put past differences aside, at least for now, as they confront an assertive China and an unpredictable US administration that has unsettled long-standing allies and...

A pact between India and Russia on reciprocal access to military facilities is expected to boost Moscow’s influence in the Indian Ocean and increase New Delhi’s presence in the Arctic.

However, it does not mean the two countries’ bases will be opened to each other’s armed forces as they step up defence cooperation, according to analysts.

India and Russia signed the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) covering military exercises, training and humanitarian missions in Moscow in...

An old Thai proverb says, “If you love your cow, tie it up; if you love your child, beat them”. It is meant to convey that a loving and responsible guardian should discipline their child and that corporal punishment is an act of care as sensible as tethering one’s cattle so that it does not wander off. For many generations, this proverb and traditional practices have normalised corporal punishment. This attitude is also displayed by teachers in schools.

One year after Thailand legally banned...

Japan and Vietnam are set to agree to boost their partnership in economic security in leaders’ talks on Saturday, as Japan seeks to strengthen supply chains for critical resources amid its diplomatic spat with China and the Middle East crisis.

As Tokyo looks to deepen ties with Southeast Asian nations with an eye to China’s increasing economic engagement with the region, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will also give a speech on Japan’s updated vision for its free and open Indo-Pacific policy...

Southeast Asian growers can now ship durians to China faster than before using a new cold-storage rail service linking Thailand, Laos and southwest China’s Yunnan province, slashing prices for the pungent fruit.

The first goods train laden with durians from Thailand – China’s biggest source of the fruit – began winding its way north through Laos to China over the weekend, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.

More than 90 per cent of the world’s durian exports – worth about US$7.5 billion...

With his broad smile, Tatsumi Hokuto helps an elderly woman in a Japanese care home almost effortlessly to her feet and makes sure she is steady.

At first glance, Hokuto cuts an unlikely figure for a carer role: a powerfully built 27-year-old in tight leggings and a black singlet, with the physique of a dedicated bodybuilder.

But for Nagoya-based Visionary, a company that operates nursing and care facilities across Japan, that contrast is precisely the point.

Visionary’s “macho carers” like...

When Malaysia’s government announced a ban on two books in mid-April, the move raised eyebrows, with some questioning the intent of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration and his reformist credentials.

The home affairs ministry on April 16 declared that the books – one of which was a memoir of the grandmother to an ally of Anwar – were a danger to national security for containing communist elements and ideologies.

The decision triggered immediate pushback, predictably from civil society...

Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said.

“This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.”

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad...

Singapore and Thailand ranked among the world’s “least miserable” economies in an annual index compiled by a Johns Hopkins University economist, who said Southeast Asia was one of the “healthiest economic neighbourhoods” in the world.

The 2025 Hanke’s Annual Misery Index (HAMI), compiled by applied economics professor Steve Hanke, measures the “economic temperature” of a country and seeks to approximate how its average citizen experiences the economy.

This year’s HAMI found that several...

A train hit a car in Indonesia on Friday, killing four people including two children, police said, days after another deadly train crash outside the capital Jakarta.

The driver of the car involved in the collision in Central Java province did not see the oncoming train on a level crossing due to thick fog, local traffic officer Eko Ari Kisworo said in a statement issued by the police.

The train then collided with the car, which carried nine people and was flung about 20m (66ft) before hitting a...