Asia - South China Morning Post

Melaka police are tracking a 36-year-old express bus driver after a video showing him driving with a woman seated on his lap near the Bemban Rest and Recreational area went viral in Malaysia.

Jasin Superintendent Lee Robert said initial investigations found the incident occurred at about 7.30pm on Sunday at the entrance to the area.

He described the driver’s actions as extremely dangerous, noting that such behaviour could impair vehicle control and cause serious distraction, posing a risk to...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. Singapore’s refusal to negotiate over Hormuz creates waves in Malaysia

Singapore’s pushback against negotiating with Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a backlash from Malaysian politicians, who saw its statements as “lecturing” them on how best to...

With millions of Indonesians at risk of being pushed into poverty amid a deepening global energy crisis, President Prabowo Subianto arrived in Moscow this week seeking something straightforward but increasingly scarce: cheap oil.

Prabowo’s trip, which got under way on Monday, comes at a moment of acute regional anxiety. Global oil prices have skyrocketed since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran more than six weeks ago amid the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The...

At least 26 South Korean tankers are thought to be stranded near the Strait of Hormuz. That fact alone may best explain why President Lee Jae Myung walked into a diplomatic firefight with Israel last week, analysts say.

The row erupted on Friday when Lee commented on a grainy clip that appeared to show Israeli soldiers pushing a body from a rooftop.

The footage, which dates to September 2024, was originally posted by a Palestinian activist account alongside a caption falsely claiming it showed...

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for an end to allegations of diesel being supplied to the Philippines, stating that the claim is untrue.

Anwar said the recent shipment of diesel was not from national oil company Petronas but from a foreign commodity company, Vitol.

“They [Vitol] have an agreement to transport oil and sell it to the Philippines. It is not us [Petronas] supplying it to the Philippines,” he said.

“But we are not stopping it. We are giving passage. The oil belongs...

Jet fuel shortages and surging prices are forcing flight cancellations across the Asia-Pacific, a squeeze that could intensify after the United States began controlling oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran.

Tehran’s effective closure of the strait – a chokepoint for about 20 per cent of global oil supply – is hitting regional airlines, particularly in countries without strategic energy reserves, analysts said. Jet fuel reached nearly US$198 in the...

The bust of an illegal transfer of oil between tankers in Malaysian waters has returned the spotlight to the shadow fleet trade in fuel – much of it from sanctioned nations – in Southeast Asia, which continues despite the paralysis of legitimate shipping routes triggered by the Iran war.

Two tankers were intercepted in waters off Bagan Ajam, off the coast of Penang, on Saturday during an alleged illegal transfer of more than 700,000 litres of diesel worth an estimated 5.43 million ringgit...

Pakistan is considering financing from both countries and banks as options to repay a US$3 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates and help maintain foreign exchange reserve levels amid soaring oil prices, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.

The South Asian country this month failed to reach an agreement with the UAE to roll over the debt for the first time in seven years, adding pressure on external buffers at a time when the economy is getting hit by the fallout from the conflict in...

Japan’s effort to shield itself from President Donald Trump’s tariffs is facing a new backlash, with environmental groups warning that US projects tied to Tokyo’s investment pledge could generate greenhouse gases equal to around 20 per cent of Japan’s annual emissions.

The Japanese government agreed to invest 5.7 trillion yen (US$35.6 billion) in the three projects as part of the first round of spending on US infrastructure in return for Trump’s tariffs being suspended. In total, the bilateral...

In a world edging dangerously close to a wider war, where weeks of escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran have threatened to spiral into a catastrophic regional conflict, Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely but decisive diplomatic actor.

Through sustained backchannel engagement and careful balancing of competing alliances, Islamabad helped bring two deeply distrustful adversaries to a temporary ceasefire, hopefully averting what would be one of the most consequential geopolitical...