https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/319905/feed Latest news, updates and opinion on Myanmar, covering politics, economy, society and the country’s relationships with China and India, and other countries in Southeast Asia. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Courts in China have sentenced three key figures of a notorious Myanmar crime syndicate to death for operating large-scale cross-border telecoms fraud networks and causing the deaths of four Chinese nationals. The Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court and the Nanan City People’s Court in southeastern Fujian province handed down the rulings against syndicate head Wei Huairen, his nephew Chen Dawei and accomplice Liao Jingfang on Tuesday, following a trial held in May, state broadcaster CCTV... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370757/china-sentences-3-more-myanmar-crime-bosses-death-scam-centre-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3370757/china-sentences-3-more-myanmar-crime-bosses-death-scam-centre-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:26:07 +0000 Aidan Jones,Vincent Tan Aidan Jones,Vincent Tan On a recent Friday night in a Bangkok dive bar, a group of young Myanmar exiles sang softly along to a mournful ballad played on an acoustic guitar. None among the crowd had any plans to leave, either for their homeland or home for bed. They fled war, a broken economy and forced conscription into a military that seized power in the 2021 coup. While their future in Thailand is uncertain, their ties to home are kept alive by the hard currency they send back each month to parents and siblings left... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3370370/how-shadow-banking-feeds-myanmar-while-starving-its-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3370370/how-shadow-banking-feeds-myanmar-while-starving-its-military?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines is developing a national road map to combat child labour as part of a broader push across Southeast Asia, where poverty and insecure livelihoods continue to drive children into work despite government efforts to stamp out the practice. But analysts warn that policy commitments alone will not be enough without stronger support for vulnerable families, better access to education and more effective enforcement of child protection laws. On September 23 and 24, government officials,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3370369/can-philippines-lead-southeast-asias-fight-against-child-labour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3370369/can-philippines-lead-southeast-asias-fight-against-child-labour?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:33:52 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China tried 3 times to talk crime families out of scam business in Myanmar: CCTV China tried three times to persuade powerful families in northern Myanmar to shut down scam operations before Myanmar police carried out large-scale... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3370254/china-warned-myanmar-syndicates-trump-urged-xi-talk-takaichi-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3370254/china-warned-myanmar-syndicates-trump-urged-xi-talk-takaichi-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 04:15:06 +0000 Alex Sherr Alex Sherr While walking alongside Victoria Harbour or riding the Star Ferry, luck might have allowed you a glimpse of Way Foong motoring by. Its old-fashioned appearance is a sign that the boat is obviously from an era long past but, because it is not a traditional junk, you may not have realised you were looking at an authentic piece of Hong Kong history: a wooden motoryacht constructed locally almost 100 years ago. Commissioned by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now HSBC) – “Way Foong”... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/passions/article/3370165/hong-kongs-historic-vessels-sail-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/passions/article/3370165/hong-kongs-historic-vessels-sail-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:16 +0000 Teresa Elena Frontado Teresa Elena Frontado The United States has downgraded Hong Kong to the lowest tier in its annual human trafficking report, citing shortcomings in prosecutions and victim identification, an assessment the city’s government rejected as “entirely unfounded”. The US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on Thursday, moved Hong Kong from the Tier 2 Watch List, where it had been listed for two consecutive years, to Tier 3. That places the city alongside mainland China and Macau among 20... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370244/hong-kong-rejects-us-downgrade-lowest-tier-human-trafficking-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3370244/hong-kong-rejects-us-downgrade-lowest-tier-human-trafficking-report?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 21:43:50 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday said Malaysia would do “whatever is possible” to strengthen cooperation with Myanmar and fully reintegrate the diplomatically isolated nation into the Asean fold. The pledge came during an unusually high-profile official welcome for Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, despite Malaysia’s position that such engagement does not amount to recognition of his government. Min Aung Hlaing inspected a guard of honour in Putrajaya before holding private talks with... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370161/anwars-push-return-myanmar-asean-sparks-criticism-over-weakened-leverage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3370161/anwars-push-return-myanmar-asean-sparks-criticism-over-weakened-leverage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2026 07:16:15 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Singapore occupies a “peculiarly sensitive existential point” as it seeks to retain strategic options amid a great power rivalry, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said, doubling down on the city state’s stance of refusing to take sides. He also warned that the global landscape would remain unsettled if China and the United States failed to address their respective domestic issues. Speaking at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2026 in Singapore on Wednesday, Balakrishnan identified... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369999/singapore-says-it-must-be-able-say-no-us-china-preserve-trust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3369999/singapore-says-it-must-be-able-say-no-us-china-preserve-trust?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:10:23 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Malaysia’s repatriation of Myanmar nationals ahead of a visit to Kuala Lumpur by the war-torn country’s leader appears to mirror efforts by other Asean countries seeking to mend ties with Naypyidaw. Several Asean members have stepped up engagement with Myanmar at the bilateral level recently, raising questions about whether a gradual normalisation between the bloc and the country could undermine efforts to end its civil war, according to analysts. Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals repatriated from... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3369953/malaysias-myanmar-bet-repatriations-pave-way-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3369953/malaysias-myanmar-bet-repatriations-pave-way-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2026 01:30:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Four Indonesian seamen who were kidnapped and held hostage by Somali pirates aboard an oil tanker for more than five months arrived back home on Tuesday. The men were among 17 crew rescued a week ago when maritime police from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia stormed the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 tanker that was hijacked in April. Before the vessel could be recaptured, the pirates had already killed five crew members – three Pakistanis, an Indian and a Myanmar national... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369954/4-indonesian-seamen-kidnapped-somali-pirates-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369954/4-indonesian-seamen-kidnapped-somali-pirates-return-home?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:15:05 +0000 William Yiu,Edith Lin William Yiu,Edith Lin Hong Kong has retained its status as the world’s freest economy in the latest annual ranking by a top Canadian think tank, although its score has declined in recent years. Switzerland overtook Singapore to claim second place in 2026, pushing the city state down to third in the league table released by the Fraser Institute on Tuesday. The Economic Freedom of the World report, compiled by the Vancouver-based public policy research organisation using data from 2024, ranked Hong Kong first among 165... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3369922/hong-kong-remains-worlds-freest-economy-switzerland-overtakes-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3369922/hong-kong-remains-worlds-freest-economy-switzerland-overtakes-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:36:16 +0000 Eve Qiao Eve Qiao China tried three times to persuade powerful families in northern Myanmar to shut down scam operations before Myanmar police carried out large-scale arrests in 2023, according to a new documentary broadcast on Chinese state television. The three-part documentary, jointly produced by China’s Ministry of Public Security and state broadcaster CCTV, began airing on Monday. It shows obstacles faced by Chinese authorities in pursuing criminal networks and scam groups operating in northern Myanmar... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3369886/china-tried-3-times-talk-crime-families-out-scam-business-myanmar-state-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3369886/china-tried-3-times-talk-crime-families-out-scam-business-myanmar-state-media?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2026 06:44:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals who were sent back from Malaysia arrived in the country’s largest city on Sunday despite warnings from the UN refugee agency and rights groups that conditions for return remain unsafe. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, triggering widespread opposition and plunging large parts of the country into conflict. The returnees, including 86 women, have been convicted of staying... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369705/malaysia-repatriates-1500-myanmar-nationals-despite-un-risk-warnings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369705/malaysia-repatriates-1500-myanmar-nationals-despite-un-risk-warnings?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Oct 2026 11:08:17 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage From online-gambling rings in eSwatini to SIM swapping in Kenya and cybercrime networks in Zambia, a wave of cross-border fraud is drawing African governments and China into closer security cooperation. China hosted East African security ministers and police chiefs in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on September 10 for talks on terrorism, kidnapping, online fraud and other cross-border threats. China’s public security minister, Wang Xiaohong, said Beijing would strengthen law-enforcement... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3369660/china-and-africa-boost-law-enforcement-ties-crackdown-cross-border-cybercrime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3369660/china-and-africa-boost-law-enforcement-ties-crackdown-cross-border-cybercrime?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Oct 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he discussed the release of “political prisoners” in China with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Washington last week. “We talked, and I think we had some very, very important discussions. Hopefully fruitful discussions,” Trump told reporters in the White House. Families had stepped up pressure on the Trump administration to push Beijing to release their loved ones ahead of Xi’s three-day state visit. Trump was asked whether he had raised the cases... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3369396/trump-claims-he-discussed-release-political-prisoners-xi-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3369396/trump-claims-he-discussed-release-political-prisoners-xi-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:13:15 +0000 Reuters Reuters Somali ⁠pirates killed five crew members of ⁠the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday. Puntland’s authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May. The deaths ‌aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade. The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/africa/article/3369269/somali-pirates-kill-5-crew-hijacked-tanker-rescue-security-forces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/africa/article/3369269/somali-pirates-kill-5-crew-hijacked-tanker-rescue-security-forces?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Sep 2026 02:43:04 +0000 CNA CNA A 30-year-old man was charged on Tuesday over an AI-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir in Singapore that prompted authorities to search for the reptile and suspend water activities there. Ye Lin, a Myanmar national, was handed two charges – one count of communicating a false message and one count of obstructing the course of justice. Speaking through an interpreter, he told the court that he intended to plead guilty, and would not be engaging a lawyer. On August 20, Ye Lin... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369215/man-charged-over-ai-image-crocodile-singapore-reservoir-led-search?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3369215/man-charged-over-ai-image-crocodile-singapore-reservoir-led-search?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:37:35 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia began an operation to send nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals back to their war-torn homeland on Tuesday, pressing ahead with a government-to-government repatriation deal despite warnings that returnees could face persecution and forced conscription. The first group of 1,476 is part of an agreement to return 5,000 people held in Malaysian immigration facilities under a programme Kuala Lumpur describes as voluntary, though human rights groups say it lacks adequate safeguards. Those being... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3369167/malaysia-begins-sending-thousands-myanmar-nationals-back-war-torn-homeland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3369167/malaysia-begins-sending-thousands-myanmar-nationals-back-war-torn-homeland?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:00:01 +0000 Laura Zhou Laura Zhou Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the US will conclude not at the diplomatic negotiating table, but in front of America’s founding documents. After morning tea in the White House Red Room, US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania will take Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on a tour of the National Archives, the home of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and other texts that established the basis of the US government. According to the Office of the First Lady, the two couples... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368793/xi-and-trump-cap-summit-tour-through-shared-us-and-chinese-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3368793/xi-and-trump-cap-summit-tour-through-shared-us-and-chinese-history?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:00:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse As a Rohingya exile who abandoned his life in Malaysia to return to Myanmar, Ismail’s bleak prospects may portend what awaits others caught in Kuala Lumpur’s migrant crackdown. Weeks ago, the 25-year-old was eking out a living at a Malaysian fish market, one of legions of the Muslim minority group who left Myanmar to escape violence some monitors say amounted to genocide. But a wave of anti-Rohingya sentiment, migrant arrests and a government plan to repatriate Myanmar nationals drove Ismail... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3368618/rohingya-who-fled-myanmar-chaos-now-dread-return-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3368618/rohingya-who-fled-myanmar-chaos-now-dread-return-malaysia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 07:08:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters Female prisoners in Myanmar are subjected to widespread torture, sexual violence and life-threatening medical neglect, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, underlining the chronic ill-treatment of thousands of detainees in the war-torn nation. Since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, a protracted civil war ‌has gripped the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, devastating several regions and killing about 100,000 while displacing more than 3.5 million. In a report, the New... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3368465/beatings-electric-shocks-sexual-violence-women-endure-torture-myanmar-prisons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3368465/beatings-electric-shocks-sexual-violence-women-endure-torture-myanmar-prisons?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 04:25:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations in New York this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people. The annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: can the leaders... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368291/world-leaders-meet-un-planet-grapples-climate-change-wars-runaway-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368291/world-leaders-meet-un-planet-grapples-climate-change-wars-runaway-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:54:07 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia will formally invite Myanmar leader Minh Aung Hlaing to visit Kuala Lumpur to discuss efforts to repatriate nearly 200,000 refugees from the war-torn nation that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says have placed a heavy social and economic burden on his country. Refugees from Myanmar, particularly ethnic Rohingya, have faced worsening hostility in recent months in Malaysia, where they are accused of causing social problems and taking over small local businesses in areas where they have set... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3367762/malaysia-invite-myanmars-min-aung-hlaing-rohingya-repatriation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3367762/malaysia-invite-myanmars-min-aung-hlaing-rohingya-repatriation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:01:44 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan Bessie* left the Philippines for Malaysia more than a decade ago to care for other people’s children. She stayed to look after their parents instead. Certified as a carer, she now freelances around Kuala Lumpur’s Klang Valley, earning up to 25 ringgit (US$6) an hour for round-the-clock shifts, with clients providing her meals, transport and housing. “My former employer was very understanding and offered to release me earlier so I could earn a higher salary as a caregiver,” the 50-year-old... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3367222/asia-rapidly-ages-who-cares-carers-when-they-grow-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3367222/asia-rapidly-ages-who-cares-carers-when-they-grow-old?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:06 +0000 Aidan Jones,Iman Muttaqin Yusof,Kolette Lim,Ushar Daniele Aidan Jones,Iman Muttaqin Yusof,Kolette Lim,Ushar Daniele Dr Asma Zafirah doesn’t need satellite images to know when Kalimantan is burning. She sees it in the watery eyes and laboured breaths of the patients at her clinic in Sarawak, and the children who are kept home from school to protect them from the toxic air. Southeast Asia’s transboundary haze crisis was meant to have been brought under control six years ago. But Borneo is once again belching out dangerous emissions, as fires in the peatlands and forests of Kalimantan – Indonesia’s section of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367217/smoke-how-southeast-asia-bungled-its-haze-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3367217/smoke-how-southeast-asia-bungled-its-haze-response?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim As Singapore considers joining a China-led body on artificial intelligence, analysts say membership would give the city state a bigger say in global governance matters related to the technology but may invite an unfriendly response from Washington. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed in parliament earlier this week that Singapore had received an invitation to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Singapore would consider the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3367253/singapore-weighs-joining-china-led-ai-body-does-it-risk-us-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3367253/singapore-weighs-joining-china-led-ai-body-does-it-risk-us-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:53:24 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin The Trump administration sanctioned Chinese-language marketplace Xinbi Guarantee on Wednesday, along with two affiliated organisations, as part of a wider crackdown on transnational cybercrime. The US Department of Justice also announced it had seized Telegram channels and cryptocurrency wallets tied to the platform, which has over 650,000 users, freezing more than US$52 million in potentially laundered funds in just one day. “This is not a distant overseas crime story,” said Jeanine Pirro, the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3366977/us-sanctions-chinese-language-xinbi-guarantee-marketplace-over-cyber-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3366977/us-sanctions-chinese-language-xinbi-guarantee-marketplace-over-cyber-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2026 21:48:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thai authorities arrested 12 South Koreans and a Chinese national accused of running a scam call centre from a high-end rented house south of Bangkok, police said on Tuesday. The alleged scammers “entered Thailand from a neighbouring country and were hiding in Samut Prakan province, renting a luxury house”, Thai police said in a statement, without naming the country. Cambodia and Myanmar, which border Thailand, have become hubs for criminal groups operating fake romance, investment and other... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366814/12-south-koreans-arrested-thailand-scam-centre-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366814/12-south-koreans-arrested-thailand-scam-centre-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:46:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse In a country consumed by conflict, a sport defined by brutality dominates: Myanmar’s lethwei martial art, where headbutts are encouraged and knockout blows are the aim of the game. “I can’t live without fighting,” said 19-year-old Su Luck, who enters the ring under the paradoxical pseudonym “Peace Prize”. “I have never once considered giving up this passion,” she said. Lethwei is traditional Burmese boxing, distinct from Thai kickboxing because head blows are permitted and fighters compete... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366450/cant-live-without-fighting-myanmar-youth-find-solace-bareknuckle-lethwei?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366450/cant-live-without-fighting-myanmar-youth-find-solace-bareknuckle-lethwei?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 02:00:11 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Cambodia says it has flushed out a scam industry estimated to have stolen tens of billions of US dollars last year alone, but a string of arrests in recent days suggests the gangs behind it may have simply changed address. Scam centres proliferated across Cambodia during the pandemic, when hundreds of thousands of jobless young people were pulled into defunct casino complexes to target victims worldwide with bogus romance, cryptocurrency and investment frauds. Chinese criminal networks found an... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3366072/southeast-asias-scam-gangs-regroup-after-cambodias-purge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3366072/southeast-asias-scam-gangs-regroup-after-cambodias-purge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:19:05 +0000 Han Li Han Li US lawmakers are trying to identify which foreign countries are the biggest sources of unlawful robocalls targeting Americans, as Congress steps up efforts to combat a surge in phone scams. The inquiry follows a string of US government reports tying much of the financial damage from scams to Chinese criminal networks based in Southeast Asia. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee passed the bipartisan “Foreign Robocall Elimination Act” on Tuesday,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/diplomacy/article/3366036/us-congress-seeks-identify-foreign-countries-behind-scam-calls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/diplomacy/article/3366036/us-congress-seeks-identify-foreign-countries-behind-scam-calls?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Sep 2026 22:30:49 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Every bloc needs a chair capable of getting things done – and Southeast Asia watchers say that description fits no country better than Singapore. The city state will get the chance to prove it in the bloc’s 60th anniversary year, after it takes the Asean helm from the Philippines on January 1. Speaking at Singapore’s National Day Rally on August 22, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the world was becoming more fractured and dangerous – one that the city state would have to “endure and survive... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3365626/small-state-big-agenda-singapore-prepares-steer-asean-through-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3365626/small-state-big-agenda-singapore-prepares-steer-asean-through-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters ⁠India’s coastguard ⁠and navy continued search-and-rescue operations off the eastern coast on Sunday after a Panama-flagged cargo vessel carrying 24 crew sank, with two Chinese nationals rescued, a ‌senior official said. The two rescued Chinese seafarers said the vessel developed a list on Friday and sank within eight minutes, forcing crew to abandon ship, Shyam Jagannathan, director general of India’s Maritime Administration, said. Jagannathan said the chances ⁠of finding survivors generally... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3364946/india-launches-rescue-mission-panama-flagged-cargo-ship-sinks-east-coast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/south-asia/article/3364946/india-launches-rescue-mission-panama-flagged-cargo-ship-sinks-east-coast?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 22:31:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Myanmar military air strike on a monastery where civilians were gathered for a meditation retreat marking Buddhist Lent killed 14 people, two rebel fighters who witnessed the aftermath said. Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military staged a 2021 coup ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Over the past five years, more than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed across all sides as the military battles an... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364928/myanmar-air-strike-kills-14-praying-monastery-rebel-witnesses-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364928/myanmar-air-strike-kills-14-praying-monastery-rebel-witnesses-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:48:41 +0000 Su Mon Thazin Aung Su Mon Thazin Aung SpaceX discontinued its Global Roam service for existing customers as of Monday. The US company offered no specific reason beyond regulatory compliance, but few would question the move, given the need to clamp down on the increasing number of cybercrime networks that tap into its Starlink services globally. Yet in Myanmar, the Starlink move is a double-edged sword. The country’s civil conflict has cut many people off from conventional digital communications. For conflict-affected communities,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/opinion/article/3364870/spacexs-starlink-blackout-punishes-myanmar-civilians-not-just-cybercriminals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/opinion/article/3364870/spacexs-starlink-blackout-punishes-myanmar-civilians-not-just-cybercriminals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Dewey Sim,Laura Zhou Dewey Sim,Laura Zhou Southeast Asian leaders have long insisted they will not be forced to pick sides in the great-power rivalry between the US and China. But their posture is about to be further tested. This time, the battleground is AI. While Washington wants the region locked into Pax Silica – its bid to build a China-free artificial intelligence supply chain – Beijing wants its neighbours to join China’s own World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Sources told the South China Morning Post... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364853/china-and-us-push-southeast-asia-over-their-ai-blocs-will-it-test-regions-non-alignment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364853/china-and-us-push-southeast-asia-over-their-ai-blocs-will-it-test-regions-non-alignment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:00:05 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Online scam syndicates that rely on trafficked workers, guarded compounds and vast call-centre-style operations could soon become more threatening by exploiting agentic AI to run some fraud operations autonomously, a cybercrime expert has warned. Unlike earlier uses of artificial intelligence to write scripts, translate messages or produce deepfakes, agentic AI systems can carry out multi-step tasks with limited human prompting, raising the prospect of scams that are faster, cheaper, more... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3364789/asia-faces-scam-epidemic-threat-gangs-exploit-agentic-ai-cybercrime-expert-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3364789/asia-faces-scam-epidemic-threat-gangs-exploit-agentic-ai-cybercrime-expert-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:29:20 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The US State Department said on Thursday that it had determined after a detailed investigation that Min Zin, an American political analyst of Chinese descent detained by Beijing last month, was being improperly held. That formal designation shifts the case from a State Department consular issue to one handled by its presidential office dealing with hostage affairs. Thursday’s terse statement, which said the decision was made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adds another irritant to the fraught... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3364739/us-designates-academic-min-zin-wrongfully-detained-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/article/3364739/us-designates-academic-min-zin-wrongfully-detained-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2026 22:07:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The White House has raised the alarm over what it terms a “shadow” network of over 40 nations allegedly facilitating a massive transshipment scam, claiming that these countries are mislabelling the origin of Chinese exports to deceive American customs officials. While Washington frames this as an international conspiracy to rob the American economy of tens of billions of dollars, it is, in reality, a glaring admission of the ineffectiveness of its own trade policies. Titled “The Great... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3364529/transshipment-scam-not-global-conspiracy-warning-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3364529/transshipment-scam-not-global-conspiracy-warning-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2026 23:15:06 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones On paper, the small rooms inside the flats in Din Daeng, a district in Bangkok, were packed with foreign children. A total of 64 foreign children had been registered as occupants in one flat alone – an implausible listing that authorities say has exposed a wider fraud in Thailand’s house-registration system. The children were not found living there. Their names, investigators say, have been fraudulently entered into official records, potentially opening the way to pink ID cards, access to public... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3364577/fake-residency-foreign-children-thailand-spotlights-widening-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/people/article/3364577/fake-residency-foreign-children-thailand-spotlights-widening-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:40:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Indonesia has seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine hidden on a Tanzanian-flagged vessel in one of the country’s biggest drug busts, with 10 crew members arrested, a senior narcotics official said. The National Narcotics Agency said in a statement late on Tuesday it had received intelligence that a vessel sailing from Sarawak, Malaysia, through the Andaman Sea may be carrying narcotics to Indonesia. The agency, in a joint operation with customs officials, intercepted the MV Rain Maker –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364544/indonesia-seizes-26-tonnes-liquid-meth-tanzanian-flagged-ship-record-drug-bust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364544/indonesia-seizes-26-tonnes-liquid-meth-tanzanian-flagged-ship-record-drug-bust?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2026 07:30:53 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow ⁠on Tuesday with ⁠Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung ⁠Hlaing, discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Russia is the first non-neighbouring country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since becoming Myanmar’s president in April, a sign of the two countries’ ‌deepening ties in the face of pressure from the West. In remarks after the meeting, Putin described Min Aung Hlaing as a friend of Russia and said the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3364481/russias-putin-hosts-myanmar-leader-talks-energy-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3364481/russias-putin-hosts-myanmar-leader-talks-energy-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:41:02 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian leader seeks an economic reboot for his war-ravaged country and fresh supplies of fertiliser, oil and weapons. A pariah to much of the West over his 2021 coup and role as army chief during the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority, Min Aung Hlaing has nonetheless found friends in Beijing, New Delhi and Bangkok over recent months. That followed a heavily criticised election won... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364430/myanmars-president-heads-moscow-seeking-russian-arms-and-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364430/myanmars-president-heads-moscow-seeking-russian-arms-and-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:15:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thailand’s justice minister pledged on Tuesday to review pardon criteria following backlash over the release of an 85-year-old drug trafficker who served less than a decade of a life prison sentence. Laota Saenlee, a former anti-communist guerrilla turned drug runner linked to powerful Myanmar drug kingpins, was arrested by undercover officers in 2016 for selling crystal meth in the Golden Triangle drug-producing region. The rugged Golden Triangle zone – where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364409/thailand-review-pardon-rules-after-release-85-year-old-drug-lord-brings-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3364409/thailand-review-pardon-rules-after-release-85-year-old-drug-lord-brings-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2026 07:35:44 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Southeast Asian exporters may soon face a heavier burden of proof to show they are not helping Chinese goods dodge US tariffs after the White House named nine countries in the region as part of what it called a global “Shadow Transshipment Network”. The warning came in a White House report titled “The Great Transshipment Scam”, which alleged that Chinese-origin goods were being routed through lower-tariff jurisdictions and re-entering the US market under new national identities. Analysts said... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364381/us-transshipment-scam-claims-put-asean-exporters-bind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364381/us-transshipment-scam-claims-put-asean-exporters-bind?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2026 05:13:59 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan After last year’s border conflict with Cambodia, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers left Thailand, exposing how dependent parts of its economy had become on cross-border labour. Thailand has tried to ease the squeeze by holding on to workers already in the country, especially Myanmar nationals. But figures from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and warnings from employer groups point to a deeper problem: a workforce built around proximity, familiarity and low travel costs cannot... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3364128/how-cambodian-worker-exodus-exposes-thailands-fragile-labour-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3364128/how-cambodian-worker-exodus-exposes-thailands-fragile-labour-model?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran A UN investigative report accusing Myanmar’s military of carrying out a “sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians” has muddied Min Aung Hlaing’s push for regional acceptance – but analysts say it is unlikely to derail his efforts to win recognition for his post-election government. The report by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), a body appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, documents a year-long investigation into alleged “war crimes and crimes against... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364049/un-atrocity-report-adds-friction-myanmar-juntas-diplomatic-push-legitimacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3364049/un-atrocity-report-adds-friction-myanmar-juntas-diplomatic-push-legitimacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:58:50 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by surging waters across Myanmar and Laos, with Thai farming communities along the Mekong River bracing themselves for difficult days ahead as authorities warn persistent heavy rains may bring flash floods. Each year monsoon rains bring extensive flooding across the region. Environmental campaigners say the damage is exacerbated by changing weather patterns and deforestation, as well as the string of dams across arterial rivers – like the Mekong –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3363945/floods-devastate-mekong-communities-economic-strain-conflict-compound-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/health-environment/article/3363945/floods-devastate-mekong-communities-economic-strain-conflict-compound-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:31:08 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. As Hong Kong prepares for its first five-year planning cycle, long-term urban sustainability demands investing in mental capital. For Hong Kong to remain globally competitive without normalising burnout or chronic stress, mental health must be treated as core public... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3363716/5-year-plan-must-take-mental-health-seriously-economys-sake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/letters/article/3363716/5-year-plan-must-take-mental-health-seriously-economys-sake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 03:30:07 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Fears of a new industrial revolution in which artificial intelligence replaces manual labour have yet to materialise in Southeast Asia – but white-collar workers should brace themselves. Nearly one in four workers in the region face generative AI (GenAI) disrupting or affecting their jobs, according to a July report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Clerical, administrative and professional positions were most at risk, the report stated. Manual trades, craft and agricultural work... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3363748/ai-threatens-nearly-quarter-southeast-asias-workforce-all-not-lost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/economics/article/3363748/ai-threatens-nearly-quarter-southeast-asias-workforce-all-not-lost?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:08 +0000