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Asean

Chinese automaker BYD’s EV plant in Rayong, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia

Malaysia eyes Southeast Asia’s EV hub with Hyundai’s US$500 million investment

Trade-dependent Malaysia is seeking new partners and markets as tariffs from the US-China trade wars bite.

3 hours agovideocam

Tourism

Laos vows justice after tainted alcohol kills tourists

24 Nov 2024 - 4:09PM

SCMP Highlights

Recap | Donald Trump tariff tantrums, Japan’s first-kiss crisis: 5 latest reads on Asia

23 Nov 2024 - 5:08PM

Malaysia

AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes talks Comac, being ‘loyal to China’ and Asean expansion

The Malaysian budget airline’s CEO talks fleet expansion, the rebound in travel demand and his retirement plans in a wide-ranging interview.

23 Nov 2024 - 12:57PMvideocam

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes speaks with This Week in Asia on the sidelines of the 2024 Family Business Summit in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Myanmar

Singapore warns Myanmar not to use Asean for ‘politics of retaliation’

Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said Myanmar’s actions could foster a “politics of retaliation” and urged the junta not to exploit Asean for its own interests.

22 Nov 2024 - 3:33PMvideocam

South China Sea

Southeast Asia admits China’s sway, but South China Sea stress sows distrust: study

Southeast Asian elites prefer an Asean-led regional order, despite acknowledging China’s growing influence, but the bloc faces its own challenges.

21 Nov 2024 - 7:30PMvideocam

Malaysia

Malaysia’s Anthony Loke pitches alternative route to China via pan-Asian rail

The Malaysian transport minister says the transport of goods via high-speed trains to China will help bolster regional supply chains.

20 Nov 2024 - 6:06PMvideocam

Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke. Photo: SCMP

China-Asean relations

Western powers bring ‘little’ value to Asean forum, may fan China tensions

Experts say adding Canada, France and the UK to Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus could dilute the platform’s ‘effectiveness’.

20 Nov 2024 - 5:03PMvideocam

Malaysia

Can Kuala Lumpur unseat Singapore and Bangkok as Southeast Asia’s aviation hub?

Kuala Lumpur’s airport has been ranked second in global connectivity, with Malaysia vying to become the heart of Southeast Asia’s air travel.

20 Nov 2024 - 3:31PM

Donald Trump

Will Trump’s presidency reshape Southeast Asia’s trade, security landscape?

Trump’s tariff threat and disdain for defence allies coupled with ‘China hawks’ in his cabinet pose great risk for the region, experts say.

20 Nov 2024 - 12:51PMvideocam

Donald Trump attends the America First Policy Institute’s gala in Florida on November 14. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

South China Sea

Opinion | China draws red line at Scarborough Shoal after Manila’s new maritime laws

Beijing’s move aims to legitimise future enforcement measures while avoiding overt military escalation, a hallmark of its strategy in contested maritime areas.

20 Nov 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Banking & finance

‘China plus one’ strategy to boost Asia’s growth amid Trump’s trade war

Diverting investments from China to neighbouring economies as a hedge against tariffs and geopolitical risks will boost Asia’s growth, HSBC’s Elhedery says.

19 Nov 2024 - 5:00PM

Ukraine war

Malaysia’s Ukraine stance, closeness to Russia could harm its image: analysts

Kuala Lumpur’s refusal to condemn Moscow and growing ties with Putin in a bid to join the Brics bloc may undermine its non-aligned stance.

19 Nov 2024 - 2:11PMvideocam

China trade

Trump’s new China tariffs could give potent, brief boost to Southeast Asia

Though China tariffs would make factories in Vietnam or Thailand more appealing, analysts said other restrictions could wipe out those gains.

19 Nov 2024 - 11:00AM

New China tariffs could benefit countries in Southeast Asia like Vietnam, but those gains could be wiped out with new restrictions on the passage of Chinese goods through third countries. Photo: AFP

Climate change

Opinion | As China-Japan climate action grows, Tokyo must rethink LNG push in Asia

Japan’s progress in shrinking its domestic carbon footprint is being offset by its aggressive LNG development drive in South and Southeast Asia.

17 Nov 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

An LNG tanker at the Negishi LNG Terminal, which is jointly operated by Tokyo Gas and JERA, in Yokohama, in 2019. Japan is persuading nations in the region to consider developing more LNG infrastructure when much of the world is sounding the alarm about such projects. Photo: Reuters

United States

Macroscope | Trump’s tariff weapon may amount to little in a changed world

US-China decoupling and trade diversification across the Asia-Pacific mean Trump’s tariffs are no longer capable of mass destruction.

16 Nov 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

Donald Trump

Opinion | Pragmatic Southeast Asia will adapt to Trump’s ‘America first’ agenda

The region is already bracing itself for the reinstatement of a more transactional and nationalist policy agenda in the White House.

16 Nov 2024 - 5:58AMvideocam

Malaysia

Focus on China, analysts warn, as Malaysia and Philippines clash over sea claims

Analysts urge Asean to prioritise unity over China amid escalating maritime disputes, and Malaysia’s protest over Philippine laws affecting Sabah’s boundaries.

15 Nov 2024 - 3:28PMvideocam

Chinese Maritime Militia vessels are pictured near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Technology

Opinion | AI can help power the ‘Study in Hong Kong’ brand

The city’s academic institutions have what it takes to integrate artificial intelligence into education and entice students from around the world.

13 Nov 2024 - 11:18AMvideocam

United States

Opinion | Why US influence in Southeast Asia could decline under Trump 2.0

Despite Trump positioning himself as a peacemaker, his foreign policy agenda is likely to push allies in Asia further away.

13 Nov 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

The Philippines

South China Sea: can Manila make Beijing pay US$1 million fines for trespassing?

A Philippine senator says sanctions of up to US$1 million are possible under new maritime laws, but analysts doubt they are enforceable.

12 Nov 2024 - 5:38PMvideocam

Members of the Philippine Coast Guard stand alert as a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocks their way to a resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 5. Photo: Reuters

SCMP Highlights

Recap | US women’s sex strike, Musk’s Trump bet: opinions on US election fallout

Explore the potential global impact of a second Trump term through the eyes of our opinion writers.

12 Nov 2024 - 5:25PM

United States

Opinion | Trump will ask Asia-Pacific what it can offer. Leaders must think hard

From support for the US military industrial complex to countering China, leaders must start deciding their trade-offs, bottom lines and no-go areas.

11 Nov 2024 - 7:08AMvideocam

China trade

Are durian exporters witnessing last days of ‘golden era’ in China?

Producers more concerned about unchecked growth in regional cultivation than China’s self-sufficiency drive.

11 Nov 2024 - 9:13AMvideocam

Fintech

Mainland Chinese fintech companies set up in Hong Kong to access Asean markets

Companies receive support from city’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises.

10 Nov 2024 - 12:15PM

Jiang Xuan, a senior vice-president of KN Group. Photo: Salina Li

Diplomacy

Opinion | China can build bridges as Trump’s America builds walls

Regardless of Trump’s approach, Beijing should avoid withdrawing from the world and instead seize the opportunity to attract global talent.

10 Nov 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

A police officer helps a traveller fill out an entry registration card at Beijing Capital International Airport, on July 10. Photo: Xinhua

Thailand

‘Change is coming’: will Southeast Asia have to abandon universal healthcare?

Across Southeast Asia, rising costs and funding struggles are threatening the very foundations of public health systems.

9 Nov 2024 - 12:00PM

North Korea

Asian Angle | Why Southeast Asia should worry about North Korean troops in Russia

The arrival of North Korean troops in Russia threatens to worsen and prolong the conflict in Ukraine, which would not be good for Southeast Asia.

9 Nov 2024 - 10:00AMvideocam

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Asean

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development of its member states and the protection of regional peace and stability.

last updated:

9 September, 2024