Asia - South China Morning Post

Nationalism, a deep network of local patronage and a promise to safeguard Thailand’s faltering economy catapulted Anutin Charnvirakul back into the prime minister’s office.

By his own admission, the win exceeded expectations. His Bhumjaithai Party secured 193 of the 500 parliamentary seats, according to early unofficial tallies late on Monday – “even more than I asked for”, Anutin told reporters – albeit from what looks likely to be one of Thailand’s lowest voter turnouts in decades.

Analysts...

Malaysian authorities are investigating a case involving a man dressed as Spider-Man who allegedly brought a seven-year-old girl from Terengganu state to solicit money from tourists in Melaka.

Melaka women, family and com­munity development committee chief Kalsom Noordin said the 50-year-old security guard claimed the child was his niece when he was intercepted by Melaka Welfare Department officers at a petrol kiosk in Cheng at about 6pm on Sunday.

“The girl was also made to wear a Spider-Man...

Indonesia is ready to build on its “strong relationship” with mainland China, its top economic minister has said, while Beijing is committed to upholding fairness and stability amid global uncertainty, according to Hong Kong’s former leader Leung Chun-ying.

Airlangga Hartarto and Leung were speaking on Tuesday at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026, held in Jakarta.

Leung, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative...

A man was arrested for masturbating in public at a lecture hall during a seminar for secondary school students in Malaysia.

Cheras Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rosdi Daud said that a report of the matter was lodged on Saturday following the incident at a university in Cheras, a suburb in Kuala Lumpur.

“The suspect, a male in his mid-20s, was subsequently arrested by Cheras police in the Sri Petaling area on Monday,” he said in a statement.

“The motive for the incident is still under...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has signalled that his country’s armed forces will play an even more “outstanding” role over the next five years – an indication that the coming party congress will map out a new defence build-up, including advances in nuclear and missile capabilities, analysts say.

“The next five years will be a period when our army’s exceptional role, which no one can replace, rises even higher,” Kim said on Sunday during a visit to the Ministry of National Defence marking the...

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election victory has dimmed hopes that ties between Tokyo and Beijing will significantly improve in the near term, analysts and businesspeople said, though some expect tensions to stabilise over time.

Her ruling coalition secured the win on Sunday, strengthening the hand of a leader who infuriated Beijing by outlining how Tokyo might respond to a mainland attack on Taiwan.

Enterprises caught in the middle of the dispute would have to tread...

Transnational online crime is one of the most serious security challenges facing the global community. It drives human trafficking and forced labour, enables large-scale fraud, destabilises economies and erodes public trust in digital financial systems. No country is immune, and no country can confront this threat alone.

In Cambodia, we are confronting this challenge directly. Prime Minister Hun Manet has made cyber-enabled crime, including online scams, trafficking and digital fraud, a national...

Russian oil tankers are increasingly listing Singapore as their official destination, signalling ‌a shift in export flows from India to ‍China and growing concerns over Western sanctions, traders said and LSEG shipping data shows.

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) data shows tankers carrying about 1.4 million metric tons of ⁠Russian crude departed for Singapore in January, the highest monthly volume in recent years.

Singapore does not import Russian oil amid sanction risks but its nearby waters...

Bangladesh’s election campaign entered its final day on Monday before this week’s vote, with rival parties invoking the 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters attended a succession of rival rallies across the sprawling capital Dhaka, as parties sought to harness the legacy of the mass uprising and pitch competing visions of change for the country of 170 million in Thursday’s election.

The South Asian nation will elect a 350-seat...

More than three dozen former lawmakers of a pro-democracy party in Thailand face a lifetime ban from politics after the nation’s anti-corruption agency found them in breach of ethical standards over a failed bid to amend the royal insult law.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) said on Monday that 44 former lawmakers from the now-dissolved Move Forward Party had “failed to uphold and maintain the democratic system of government with the king as head of state” by submitting a petition...