Asia - South China Morning Post

China will accelerate investment in alternative nickel supply sources and strengthen its role across the metal’s wider supply chain, analysts said, after the United States finalised a deal with Indonesia on Thursday that will give America unrestricted access to the country’s industrial commodities.

While the US Supreme Court’s tariff ruling last week could add some uncertainty to US-Indonesia trade, the agreement has the potential to reshape the global supply chain for nickel – a metal used to...

Action will be taken against any Singaporean who fights overseas for foreign causes, Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam has said, emphasising the importance of racial and religious harmony in maintaining peace in Singapore.

He also noted the critical role of religious and community leaders who help set the tone for harmony in Singapore.

Shanmugam, who is also minister for home affairs, was speaking on Monday at a fast-breaking session co-organised by Khadijah Mosque and the...

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol has filed an appeal against his life sentence for insurrection stemming from his 2024 martial law declaration, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday found Yoon guilty of leading an insurrection designed to “paralyse” the National Assembly, sentencing him to life in prison.

“We believe we have a responsibility to clearly place on record the problems with this ruling – not only in the court’s records, but also before...

Malaysian tour guide Syazni Nabilah Che Kamarudin and her family have immersed themselves in this year’s Lunar New Year festivities, handing out red packets and dressing up in traditional Chinese attire.

“This year is especially meaningful for me because it is my first time giving hongbao to my Chinese friends after getting married. I’m happy to follow this beautiful custom,” the Kuala Lumpur resident said of the long-standing Chinese tradition.

“As Malay-Muslims, we enjoy the cultural...

China has added 20 Japanese entities to its export control list and 20 more to a watch list scrutinising the trade of select goods, increasing economic pressure on Tokyo in a move that widens the scope of the countries’ prolonged diplomatic row to include some of Japan’s largest companies.

Chinese exporters have been banned from shipping dual-use goods – items with military and civilian applications – to the firms and institutions on the export control list, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce said...

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been given a promotion in the ruling party structure during a rare party congress, state media reported Tuesday.

The Workers’ Party Central Committee on Monday named Kim Yo-jong – previously a deputy department director – as a full department director, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Thousands of party elites have packed the capital for a once-in-five-years summit of the ruling Workers’ Party, a gathering...

Every spring, South Korea and the United States stage one of their largest combined military exercises in a show of force that North Korea invariably denounces as a rehearsal for war.

This year, Seoul wants to dial them back, wagering that smaller drills could open a diplomatic door that has been shut since 2019.

A joint press briefing on the Freedom Shield exercise that had been scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed amid differences over the scope of the drills, according to Yonhap news...

Nearly every Sunday, consultant Toh Jia Jie and his wife leave their new flat in Singapore and drive north across the border to Johor for a day of cheaper shopping, pickleball and massages before returning past midnight on Monday morning.

Toh, 30, is among the close to 245 million travellers who passed through Singapore’s checkpoints last year, a record high.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Monday that figure represented a 6.3 per cent increase – about 14 million more...

Former Philippine president Rodrigo ⁠Duterte was “pivotal” in the ⁠murder of thousands of people during his ⁠reign, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday, as they pushed for his trial to go ahead.

The prosecutors at the Hague-based war crimes court have charged Duterte with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, involving dozens of ‌victims that accusers say were only a fraction of the real death toll in his clampdown on alleged drug users and...

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her government have become the focus of a coordinated, long-term online smear campaign orchestrated by thousands of social media accounts, according to new research.

A study by Tokyo-based Japan Nexus Intelligence, which analyses digital public discourse, found that some 3,000 accounts had been actively posting malicious content about Takaichi since late January.

The activity surged roughly a week before campaigning for the House of Representatives...