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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.
A boat cruises past a nickel processing plant at Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in Central Halmahera, North Maluku province, Indonesia in 2024. Photo: AP
China-Asean relations

Letters | Asean is not choosing sides, but strategically maximising space

Readers discuss how Southeast Asian governments have gained bargaining power, the benefits of cheap public transport, and a harbourfront project.

Myanmar

Why China’s Myanmar dilemma still persists, 5 years and 1 election later

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Food and agriculture

Opinion | How China’s national food security push could reshape global markets

South Korea

#SEAbling: the hashtag uniting Southeast Asia against South Korea

A row over K-pop fan behaviour in Malaysia has spiralled into a bitter regional dispute online, with echoes of the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’.

A meme circulating on social media under the hashtag #SEAbling. Photo: X/sna_zizah17
China-Asean relations

Opinion | Building Asean ties puts Hong Kong on path to long-term growth

Expanding relations with Southeast Asia can open new markets for the city’s firms, deepen the talent pool and promote greater understanding.

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Thailand

Thailand wants to act as ‘bridge’ for Myanmar’s return to Asean fold

Myanmar’s junta leaders have been excluded from Asean summits since the 2021 military coup that toppled a democratic administration.

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South China Sea

Why big power rivalry poses ‘main threat’ to Asean maritime security

Smaller players ‘become pawns’ in a bigger geopolitical game as ‘strategic mistrust among major powers’ grows, Asean leaders say in Munich.

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Chinese coastguard vessels carry out a law enforcement drill in the South China Sea on February 4. Photo: Xinhua
Myanmar

East Timor triggers Asean first, accuses Myanmar of war crimes

East Timor’s laws allow its domestic courts to investigate and potentially prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed.

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South China Sea

Opinion | Can Manila’s South China Sea strategy of defiance and diplomacy hold?

China and the Philippines are both signalling openness to diplomacy alongside continued military flexing, but this may not be sustainable.

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Myanmar

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

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Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo
China Conference: Southeast Asia

Editorial | As China and Indonesia strengthen ties, Hong Kong has a role to play

The SCMP’s China Conference: Southeast Asia highlighted the synergies between the world’s second-largest and Asean’s biggest economies.

Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, speaks at SCMP’s China Conference: Southeast Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 10. Photo: SCMP
China Conference: Southeast Asia

Ambassador urges ‘shared prosperity’ in China-Asean ties as protectionism grows

Wang Qing says both sides should uphold multilateralism and oppose external interference, even as Asean members seek trade deals with US.

China Conference: Southeast Asia

Asean urged to rewrite trade rule book as US turns transactional

The US and China are the top two trading partners for Asean but it is questionable how long that status quo will last, observers say.

China Conference: Southeast Asia

Indonesia eyes China partners to build ‘better than the EU standard’

Sovereign wealth fund Danantara targets waste-to-energy, smart grids, and data centres, leveraging a global tech leader for green and infrastructure growth.

A technician checks and cleans solar panels at a bus station in Depok, Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country has set its sights on cooperating with China to lower emissions and fix environmental problems while strengthening infrastructure, energy and technology developments. Photo: EPA-EFE
Scams and swindles

Opinion | Cambodia is in a frontline battle against transnational scam syndicates

Targeted due to geography, Cambodia is on the front foot now, dismantling scam compounds, rescuing victims and prosecuting criminals.

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In a November 12 raid, the Cambodian authorities rounded up thousands at an online fraud compound in Bavet City, the largest city in the southeastern province of Svay Rieng, which shares a border with Vietnam. Photo: Handout
2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Cambodians lose homes as Thailand makes gains following clashes

Bangkok insists it has merely reclaimed land that was part of Thailand and had been occupied by Cambodians for years.

China-Asean relations

Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan

Beijing summons Southeast Asian envoys and invokes Japan’s WWII history, but campaign to isolate Tokyo gains little traction.

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Thailand

Video | Tourists mistake Thai funeral for a restaurant

Serving food and drinks at funerals are a way to thank guests for paying their respects.

A video has gone viral on Thai social media showing foreign tourists repeatedly mistaking a funeral for a restaurant.
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Crime

Video | Fake police station and uniforms found in Cambodian scam centre

Fake law enforcement uniforms with markings from several jurisdictions, including China and Singapore, were found along with mock police stations apparently used to intimidate victims.

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Video | Philippines rejects moves to impeach Marcos

One complaint focused on ‘ghost’ projects that left the country vulnerable to devastating floods.

China airliners

China’s C919 is a hit at home. Will it be a ‘hard sell’ in Singapore?

China’s C919 could be the only single-aisle jet to feature in a fly-by at this year’s Singapore Airshow, one source says.

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China’s Comac C919 plane, top, and six Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, down, perform during a preview of the 2024 Singapore Airshow in Singapore. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Opinion | Beijing must be clear-eyed about its national interests abroad

As the US disrupts international norms, China should reconsider its place in the world system to protect its overseas investments.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Myanmar

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

The Philippines

Is Philippines falling behind in EV race as Southeast Asia revs up?

Policy uncertainty and the Philippines’ lack of competitiveness in key areas have reinforced investor unease, observers say.

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China-Philippines relations

Asian Angle | South China Sea: 6 risks facing Philippines, China as conflict threshold lowers

From violent incidents to US missiles in Luzon, a ‘perilous new normal’ and vanishing red lines threaten to derail the Code of Conduct.

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A China Coast Guard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippines’ BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippine-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pagasa island, in the disputed the South China Sea on October 12, 2025. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
Donald Trump

Asian Angle | ‘Old order is not coming back’: Trump’s US, not China, threatens status quo

American unpredictability is pushing countries to hedge more proactively – and, ironically, soften existing tensions with China.

A protester interrupts US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) as he testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
The Philippines

How far can Asean engage Myanmar without legitimising military rule?

The bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Cebu amid concerns that diplomacy could slide into tacit acceptance of military rule.

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The Philippines

Just 1 visa to rule them all? How European-style pass could help Asean tourism

While Asean members such as Malaysia and Vietnam have shown strong post-pandemic growth, tourist numbers have lagged in the Philippines.

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