By Sarah Shamim The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and upgrades for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter planes worth approximately $686m. The deal was struck amid simmering tensions between Pakistan and its neighbour, India, which engaged in a five-day war following a rebel attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in May this year. The US […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia has confirmed it will not ban holiday rental platform Airbnb after Bali said it was considering doing so to curb unlicensed hotels and villas that have mushroomed on the island. The split underscores the growing tension between Bali’s push to rein in illegal accommodations and Jakarta’s preference for regulation over […]
Read MoreBy Victoria Bela China’s recent breakthroughs in fracking technology have the potential to usher in a new shale revolution that could solidify the country’s energy security and reshape the international oil order. That would see China join the United States, whose shale boom earlier this century enabled it to become the largest crude oil producer […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow South Korea’s recent moves to lower tensions with Pyongyang – from removing its propaganda loudspeakers to downplaying the North’s human rights record – may ease frictions on the peninsula, but analysts say they are unlikely to help restart stalled denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the US. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un […]
Read MoreChinese firms are expanding in Vietnam, leading investment inflows and sending record shipments to Hanoi in defiance of US calls for decoupling, as the Communist neighbours beef up ties. Recent steps that Hanoi had long resisted on security grounds include sensitive tech contracts for Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE; approval of Chinese loans for […]
Read MoreAt least half a dozen executives from top Indian arms makers, including Adani Defence and Bharat Forge, attended rare meetings in Russia this year to discuss potential joint ventures, three people familiar with the matter said. The meetings took place during the first visit of India’s defence business leaders to Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion […]
Read MoreFighting has reignited between Thailand and Cambodia in multiple areas at their disputed border, with both sides blaming the other and Thailand carrying out air strikes on what it said were Cambodian military installations. The latest flare-up will be a major test of a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump in July. What is […]
Read MoreBy Liu Zhen Chinese naval vessels have ramped up pass-through operations as tensions between Beijing and Tokyo continue to rise. On Monday, a Chinese naval Type 054 destroyer sailed southeastward between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island, heading towards the Pacific Ocean, while another travelled eastward through the Osumi Strait, Japan’s defence ministry said on Tuesday. […]
Read MoreBy Biman Mukherji Two months before Bangladesh heads to the polls for the first time since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, the most established party still in the race, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is facing deep uncertainty as its two top figures are either gravely ill or stuck abroad. BNP chair Begum Khaleda […]
Read MoreBy Raissa Robles A former spokesman for Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the International Criminal Court is preparing to arrest two of the ex-Philippine leader’s closest allies over his administration’s bloody war on drugs. Harry Roque told This Week in Asia that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr intended to use such arrests to “destroy the [political] […]
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