Asia - South China Morning Post

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck in Indonesia’s Northern Maluku Sea on Thursday, killing one person, damaging buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said, though monitoring agencies said the likelihood of further casualties was low.

Indonesia’s meteorology agency BMKG said tsunami waves were reported in five locations, the highest at 0.75 metre (2.46 feet) in North ‌Minahasa in North Sulawesi and about 50 aftershocks were monitored, the largest at a magnitude of...

Japan could get a boost in its push for a next-generation fighter jet if Canada joins a multinational consortium backing the aircraft’s development, as Tokyo aims to narrow the gap with China’s fast-modernising air force.

The Canadian government said it intended to take part in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), currently involving Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy, the Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday. Japan is planning to replace its ageing F-2 fleet with a sixth-generation stealth...

Manila is following its Southeast Asian neighbours’ lead by seeking talks with Iran to secure safe passage for Philippine-bound tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a move observers have called “a matter of survival”.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro posted on social media that she and energy secretary Sharon Garin had met Iran’s envoy Yousef Esmaeilzadeh on Wednesday to discuss energy cooperation and the advancement of bilateral ties.

“Pleased to meet Iranian Ambassador to...

The United States attacked Iran without consulting its European allies. President Donald Trump assumed the operation would be a quick win, over before anyone had to take a position. Instead, Washington answered a question Western governments had long avoided.

After years of pushing Nato towards confrontation with China, would the transatlantic alliance fight a war it had not chosen together? The answer was no.

Iran and Taiwan are different cases. One sits on Europe’s wider periphery and carries...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to design a road map for critical minerals supply as they seek to deepen cooperation in the sector amid China’s dominance of global rare earths.

The two leaders also affirmed that Japan and France will maintain close communication in support of efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and establish a high-level dialogue on artificial intelligence, Takaichi said at a joint press appearance...

The killing of three Indonesian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon is a stern test of Jakarta’s Middle East policy, with analysts saying the incident has raised questions over the risks of overseas deployment in Gaza and the region, as well as limits to global accountability.

Several Indonesian lawmakers and observers said the deaths had exposed how little protection diplomatic positions could offer during a spiralling conflict, arguing that Jakarta should reassess its role in Lebanon and...

The Myanmar junta’s attempts to place its top man in the country’s highest civilian position have been described by analysts as a “constitutional repackaging of continued military rule”.

On Monday, Min Aung Hlaing, who led the military in the 2021 coup and has headed the junta since then, resigned from the armed forces, moving one step closer to becoming president. He stepped down after Myanmar’s parliament had cleared the way for his nomination.

He handed over the role of commander-in-chief of...

Malaysia’s government has said it “strongly denies” a claim made in a news report that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sought to delay the release of findings from an investigation into the country’s anti-corruption chief, and will take legal action over the allegation.

The latest claim has sharpened scrutiny of Anwar, whose reformist image and anti-corruption credentials have come under strain amid a series of allegations involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief...

China’s exports of jet fuel have declined sharply in recent weeks amid the US-Israel war on Iran, leaving countries including Australia and Japan facing a supply crunch and scrambling to find alternative sellers.

China is Asia-Pacific’s largest jet fuel and kerosene exporter, but shipments from the country fell nearly 40 per cent month on month in March to 204,000 barrels per day, figures from trade data provider Kpler showed.

The cutback is likely to hit hardest in Australia and Japan, which...

When a hiker fell from a 55-metre (180-foot) waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which could not be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite pet and owner.

A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found Jessica Johnston with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South...