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Asean

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.
Growing cross-border trade and more flexible supply chains are driving wider use of the yuan, even as the US dollar retains its dominant role in global payments. Photo: dpa
Banking & finance

Yuan use grows as supply chains reshape global trade, Deutsche Bank says

Europe’s first foreign RMB clearer says Chinese firms’ overseas expansion is strengthening the currency’s role in cross-border commerce.

China trade

China’s export machine strengthens in August as trade imbalance concerns mount

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Malaysia

Letters | Could Indonesia be sued for the haze in Malaysia? Yes and no

Extreme weather

Southeast Asia’s extreme heat exposes holes in safety net for outdoor workers

Many Southeast Asian cities lack adequate heat risk assessments, and have weak regulations protecting outdoor workers, a report says.

A farm worker sprays fertiliser on a paddy field in Selangor’s Sabak Bernam district, Malaysia, on April 1. Photo: EPA
Malaysia

Malaysia declares emergency in Sarawak town as haze pollution level hits 521

Indonesian police have arrested 112 people suspected of starting the recent forest and peatland fires in 10 provinces on Sumatra and Borneo.

Singapore

Video | Watch leaders of Thailand and Singapore croon Beatles tune

The performance in the Thai capital on Wednesday came as Thai PM Anutin hosts the Singapore-Thailand Leaders’ Retreat in Bangkok.

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Pacific nations

Exclusive | New Zealand ‘must never be seen as a proxy’, former PM Helen Clark warns

Calling the US Pacific strategy a ‘game of bluff’, Clark urges Wellington to defend its independent foreign policy tradition.

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New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | 3 key belt and road connectivities that Hong Kong drives

Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Office is focusing on strengthening links related to infrastructure, rules and standards, and people-to-people connections.

Singapore

Can Singapore be the ‘natural choice’ to bridge Asean and Central Asia?

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore aims to explore ways to boost cooperation between both regions in various sectors.

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China trade

China’s US$10.8b short cut: new Pinglu Canal prepares to supercharge Asean trade

Delivery of first command vessel looks to signal imminent opening of megaproject connecting inland factories directly to Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam.

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Trial vessels are seen at a navigation lock on the Pinglu Canal in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on August 12. Photo: Xinhua
China-Japan relations

How Japan aims to convert ageing warships into leverage to counter China

Tokyo plans to send retired destroyers to Manila and Jakarta, but it may not demand alignment against China as part of deal.

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Japan and Indonesia are discussing the transfer of Asagiri-class destroyers, which experts say is part of Tokyo’s broader effort to cultivate a “desirable security environment”. Photo: Kyodo
Vietnam

South China Sea island build-up heightens Vietnam’s security concerns

Hanoi voices strong objections after reports emerge about Chinese construction works in the Paracels archipelago.

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The Philippines

Manila’s ‘acutely unhealthy’ air due to Indonesian haze spurs health warnings

The haze has led Quezon City to suspend classes in schools and health experts to urge residents to wear N95 masks outdoors.

Malaysia

As rice output falls, Malaysia looks to China’s ‘2 yields, 1 land’ model

Chinese rice-prawn farms could help boost Malaysia’s farming production as it faces hurdles to meet its rice self-sufficiency goal.

Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu (centre) visits a rice-prawn farm in the city of Wuhu in China’s eastern Anhui province in August. Photo: Facebook/Mohamad Sabu
The Philippines

Asean urged to take on Big Tech after Meta’s record payout

Asean cannot pass EU-style laws, but a ‘coalition of the willing’ could force Big Tech to adopt safeguards against scams and child harm.

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Apps owned by Meta Platforms include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS
Hong Kong economy

Exclusive | Hong Kong, Singapore aren’t ‘enemies’, our competition is healthy, envoy says

Consul General Eric Teo calls for ‘win-win collaboration’ in wealth management despite competing tax packages to attract capital.

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Singapore

Small state, big agenda: Singapore prepares to steer Asean through crisis

The city state takes the helm on Asean’s 60th anniversary amid civil war, tariff threats and rising global tensions.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s Anwar unveils cost of living measures as opposition rises

Anwar ⁠has faced declining support over a perceived failure to deliver on reforms as well as the mishandling of several high-profile corruption cases.

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attends a meeting with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman (not pictured) at the Federal Government office “Perdana Putra” in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on June 22. Photo: Reuters
K-pop idols

Can Southeast Asian artists replicate K-pop’s global success with SEA-pop?

Even as more regional artists are performing overseas, they should not blindly copy the K-pop playbook, industry observers say.

US-Asean relations

Opinion | Why Southeast Asia isn’t buying the US’ offer of ‘flexible realism’

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby talked up US partnerships with Asean nations during his trip to the region, but Washington’s actions contradict its ‘Asia first’ rhetoric.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | As the US and China compete over AI, Asean must secure strategic autonomy

Asean’s choice is not between technological dominance and isolation but between dependence and agency.

Workers lay cables outside Bridge Data Centres in Johor state, which has become Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing data centre hub, in Sedenak, Malaysia, on May 6. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong lawmaker urges firms to expand into emerging markets amid US visa pause

Jonathan Lamport tells SCMP the local business community is closely monitoring whether business visa processing, approvals will be affected.

The US consulate in Hong Kong and Macau on Garden Road in Central. Photo: Jelly Tse
US-China relations

Opinion | The security-obsessed global economy needs its own Helsinki process

Cold War rivals used ground rules to make competition more transparent, bounded and predictable. Today’s weaponised trade needs the same ambition.

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Indonesia

Indonesian teen with ‘Superman’ cape fights haze fires, ‘forest hero’ hailed

The teen has been using his free time after school to help his father douse fires since 2023, as videos of his feats have gone viral.

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Indonesia

1,500 Indonesian soldiers deployed to fight Borneo wildfires

Fires between January and July burned over 200,000 hectares of land, driven by a powerful El Nino weather pattern causing dry conditions across the country.

The Kampung Bahagia water village after a fire, in Sandakan, on Malaysia’s Borneo island on April 19. Photo: AFP
Myanmar

Myanmar air strike kills 14 praying at monastery, rebel witnesses say

Public buildings, most often monasteries and schools, are frequently the sites of reported air strikes according to a UN report from last week.

Debris litters a Buddhist monastery after an airstrike hit Swel Le Oh village in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar, on Friday. Photo: AP
US-China relations

Exclusive | Waico vs Pax Silica: Southeast Asia caught between China and US in AI race

Beijing reportedly offers exclusive perks to attract Global South partners while describing the American-led body as exclusionary.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s Sarawak shuts almost 600 schools as haze hits ‘very unhealthy’ level

Asean’s consensus-based approach limits the effectiveness of a regional response to tackle the haze, a climate expert says.

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