By Park Chan-kyong A multibillion-dollar contract signed by Seoul this week to supply arms to Poland has underscored the strength of South Korea’s defence industry. Observers, however, warn that a growing global trend involving bloc-based arms trade could cast a shadow over the country’s future as a major weapons exporter. The consortium of Hanwha Aerospace […]
Read MoreBy Vanessa Cai in Shanghai and Meredith Chen in Hong Kong Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are likely to persist in 2026, but analysts expect Washington and Beijing to manage risks to ensure that reciprocal state visits planned for the new year are not derailed. Beijing launched massive live-fire drills around Taiwan on Monday and […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran The death of a senior public works official alleged to have played a central role in the billion-peso flood-control scandal in the Philippines has cast fresh doubt over the future of a months-long corruption probe, with investigators now facing questions over lost testimony and compromised evidence. Legal analysts say the investigations now […]
Read MoreBEIJING: China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter aircraft and navy vessels around Taiwan on Tuesday for a second day of live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of the self-ruled island’s key ports and assaults on maritime targets. The two-day war games code-named “Justice Mission 2025” have been slammed by Taipei as “highly […]
Read MoreBy Protik Bardhan, Dhaka With the death of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, a long and eventful chapter in Bangladesh’s politics has come to an end. The reform initiatives launched under her leadership have had far-reaching impacts on the country’s economy and politics. One of the most frequently used words in Bangladesh is ‘reform.’ In […]
Read MoreBy Zhao Ziwen Saudi Arabia has pledged to boost investments in America to nearly US$1 trillion, but according to analysts Riyadh could struggle to meet that target. Rather, they said the pledge – announced when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington last month – was more about the “political display” than a binding commitment. […]
Read MoreBy Orange Wang and Dannie Peng in Beijing China was ready to help Asean observers monitor the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday, a day after Bangkok and Phnom Penh called a halt to weeks of deadly border clashes. “China supports Asean in playing its due role and […]
Read MoreBy Aidan Jones The first day of voting in Myanmar’s three-stage election was held on Sunday, a process decried as a charade with the most popular pro-democracy party banned and up to half the war-torn country unable to vote. In the capital, Naypyidaw, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cast his vote in an election he […]
Read MoreBy Julian Ryall Japan’s latest rocket failure has triggered much soul-searching and resurrected a debate about whether the country’s space programme, long defined by caution and incremental progress, is equipped for a market that now rewards speed, repetition and a tolerance for failure. On Monday, the domestically built H3 rocket, Japan’s new flagship launcher, failed, […]
Read MoreBy Aidan Jones Taya says her life was looking up as Myanmar crept out from decades of isolation. She had a job in marketing, enough money to shop in Yangon’s new retail plazas and fuel her quiet dreams of opening a small bakery, as her generation enjoyed unprecedented economic and personal freedoms. But that was […]
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