By Park Chan-kyong South Korea and Japan could use their coming bilateral summit to project stability to Washington, which was simultaneously imposing high tariffs on its allies while seeking their cooperation to counter China, analysts said. The summit, scheduled for August 23 in Tokyo, will be the first full bilateral meeting between South Korean President […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow Japan’s recent dispatch of warships to New Zealand – its first in nearly 90 years – signals Tokyo’s intention to take on a greater security role in the region and counter what analysts call increasing Chinese “geopolitical opportunism”. Carrying more than 500 crew, the two Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers docked in Wellington […]
Read MoreBy Resty Woro Yuniar Indonesia has set up a new immigration task force to keep lawbreaking foreigners in Bali in check, but critics warn the presence of uniformed officers on the popular resort island risks putting tourists on edge. Agus Andrianto, minister of immigration and corrections, on August 5 inaugurated the Immigration Patrol Task Force […]
Read MoreBy Tom Hussain The shortest Silk Route between China and Europe is set to reopen for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, following last Friday’s agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the conflict that had been blocking the way. Ironically, the obstacle was cleared by China’s nemesis, United States President […]
Read MoreNorth Korean construction workers sent to labour-strapped Russia have been forced to endure slave-like conditions of 18-hour days, two days off a year and bug-infested sleeping quarters, according to their accounts reported in the media. Working on Russian high-rise flats and other construction sites, these labourers often toil from 6am until 2am the next morning, […]
Read MoreBy Park Chan-kyong A diamond pendant worth tens of thousands of dollars, once worn by former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee on an official trip, has become the unlikely catalyst for her fall from grace. The luxury item, and its meticulously crafted fake, are now at the centre of a criminal case that saw […]
Read MoreBy Raissa Robles The Armed Forces of the Philippines has slammed as “fabricated” a video about an alleged stand-off with the Royal Malaysian Navy over contested Sabah waters and fishing rights. Manila’s navy confirmed it had sent a guided missile frigate, the BRP General Antonio Luna, to Malaysia for a long-planned joint military exercise. On […]
Read MoreBy Janelle Ling and Taryn Ng On the first day of every month, refugees in camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border would usually receive a top-up of credits to their digital food cards before making a beeline for food-card shops to stock up on groceries. On August 1, however, the shops stood quiet. Not a single […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran With the Philippines gearing up to succeed Malaysia as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2026, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has confirmed that Manila will push for a finalised and binding code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea amid a longstanding maritime row with China. In […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran The deployment of Asean observers along the Cambodia-Thailand frontier marks a fresh test for Southeast Asia’s capacity to police its own peace, even as entrenched mistrust between the two nations threatens to expose the limits of the regional bloc’s effectiveness. Cambodia and Thailand have consented to the stationing of observers from the […]
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