Asia - South China Morning Post

Malaysia on Saturday appointed a former judge as its new anti-corruption chief in an unprecedented move, as the government seeks to calm months of political turbulence over alleged misconduct linked to the watchdog’s outgoing head.

Allies and opponents have hit out against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since February following reports claiming that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) boss Azam Baki was involved in a share ownership scandal and the agency’s officers were allegedly working...

Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table.

Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but...

Traditional public bathhouses in Japan are in deep water as soaring energy costs triggered by the Middle East oil supply disruptions threaten to extinguish the fires of a fading tradition, with some of them forced to shorten their hours or even shut their doors for good.

Already struggling with a shrinking customer base and ageing owners without successors, the oil price surge is dealing a fresh blow to sento, as the communal baths are known in Japanese, with regulated pricing making it...

A turret explosion that killed three Japanese crew members inside a Type 10 tank during manoeuvres earlier this week has caused shock and confusion in military circles.

Japan’s defence ministry and experts concur that a round detonating inside a tank turret is virtually unheard of and the cause of the accident will need to be traced before the Ground Self-Defence Force’s (GSDF) newest and most advanced tank can return to training.

An analyst suggests the investigation will look closely at...

The plastic bag is an unlikely symbol of economic frailty. But in Indonesia, the soaring cost of that humble everyday item is raising uncomfortable questions about the country’s future growth prospects.

At a market in Depok, south of Jakarta, the plastic bags Budi needs to sell his chicken have nearly doubled in price. “Plastic is really expensive right now,” he said in an interview on April 17.

“Usually, I’d have to set aside at least 10,000 rupiah (58 US cents) for plastic bags, but now, I...

Another day, another big humiliation for William Lai Ching-te. The Taiwanese leader effectively had to cancel a visit to eSwatini, the island’s last partner in Africa, for the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and his 58th birthday.

Taiwan said the visit was “postponed” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar cancelled their previously approved overflight permission without warning.

Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)...

Protesters gathered in Tokyo on Friday to rally against Japan’s decision to ease decades-old arms export curbs, which critics argue erode the country’s post-war pacifist tradition.

The new rules permitting the sale of lethal weapons overseas signal a major shift, as Japan ramps up its defence ambitions and seeks to enter the global arms market in part to boost economic growth.

The move, announced this week on Tuesday by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government, has been met with some criticism...

Australian mining giant BHP’s decision to adopt a yuan-denominated index for a major Chinese buyer poses a challenge to the US dollar’s long-standing dominance in iron ore pricing, delivering a hard-won victory for Beijing, analysts said.

But while the agreement marked a breakthrough in Beijing’s push to gain greater commodity pricing power at a time when the United States faces growing “geopolitical isolation”, analysts stressed that its broader efforts to reshape the old order remained far...

A suspected Chinese underwater drone hauled out of Indonesian waters this month has sharpened global focus on a security race that analysts say has been years in the making across South and Southeast Asia: undersea surveillance.

The torpedo-shaped device was found near the Lombok Strait, one of the few deepwater channels through which submarines can transit submerged between the Pacific and Indian oceans and a passage closely watched by the United States and Australia.

Beijing said it did not...

Former Philippine vice-president Leni Robredo’s refusal to seek national office in 2028 has intensified the search for someone to unite the country’s fractured opposition against an early presidential bid by Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Robredo, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s strongest rival in the 2022 election and long seen as the opposition’s most recognisable figure, said she would not run for any state position when Marcos’ six-year term ends.

Her decision shifts attention to a...