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Laos

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Laos. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Vientiane

Head of State

President Thongloun Sisoulith

Head of Government

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone

Lao Airlines, the flag carrier of Laos, has added the Comac C909 regional jet to its fleet. Photo: CCTV

China airliners

China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline

Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage.

23 Feb 2026 - 11:00AM

China trade

As high-speed railways saturate China, how far can their global reach extend?

21 Feb 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

Scams and swindles

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

20 Feb 2026 - 7:29PMvideocam

Scams and swindles

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

16 Feb 2026 - 4:48PMvideocam

Soldiers raid the KK Park online scam centre in Myawaddy township, Karen state, Myanmar, last year. Photo: AP

Australia

Australia demands answers from Laos over methanol poisoning ‘injustice’

While 10 were convicted of destroying evidence, not a single person has been charged in connection with the deaths of two Melbourne teens.

11 Feb 2026 - 1:20PMvideocam

US immigration

‘Deported but not defeated’: the Southeast Asians cast out of Trump’s US

Born in a Thai refugee camp and raised in Texas, Kham Paneboun is now stateless in Laos, one of thousands punished again for old crimes.

8 Feb 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Cambodia

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

7 Feb 2026 - 3:57PMvideocam

A Thai solider inspects a workstation inside a scam centre in O’Smach, Cambodia, on Monday. Photo: AP

China airliners

New brainer: China’s C929 widebody lands partner to power next-gen flight mind

After Comac secures core flight-system supplier for its widebody jet’s ‘brain’, sourcing the ‘heart’ of the C929 remains a lofty challenge.

4 Feb 2026 - 11:31PM

The Philippines

Filipino’s death fuels concern over coercive recruitment in Ukraine war

Observers say the case of John Patrick reflects human exploitation and the structural pressure on Russia’s manpower resources.

30 Jan 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

South Korea

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

Arriving in handcuffs, the suspects allegedly scammed fellow South Koreans out of US$33 million.

23 Jan 2026 - 10:34PMvideocam

Police officers escort South Koreans allegedly involved in scam operations in Cambodia at Incheon International Airport on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Asean

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

17 Jan 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

Cambodia

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

14 Jan 2026 - 7:38PMvideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

The Maduro effect: US raid accelerates Asia’s drift away from Washington

Cambodia, Laos and North Korea are expected to tighten their embrace of Moscow and Beijing amid growing distrust of the US.

7 Jan 2026 - 7:16PMvideocam

Japan

More Japanese favour having an empress as Princess Aiko’s public appeal rises

Japan’s conservative politicians are against changing the centuries-old tradition of a male heir for the throne.

20 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Japanese Princess Aiko arrives at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo to greet former emperor Akihito and former empress Michiko on her 24th birthday on December 1. Photo: Kyodo

US-China relations

Rubio swaps hawk for diplomat in year-end pivot on China

Top US envoy eschews ‘pacing threat’ label, stressing cooperation and Western hemisphere priorities for 2026.

20 Dec 2025 - 6:53AMvideocam

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his end-of-year press conference at the State Department on Friday. Photo: Reuters

SCMP Highlights

China’s youth-unemployment rate, Laos joins durian war: SCMP daily highlights

From EU-China trade ties to Laos securing approval to export durians, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

18 Dec 2025 - 9:15PM

China trade

Battle for China’s durian market gets even juicier as Laos enters the fray

Laos could present a real challenge to other players in China’s vast durian market due to its low costs and logistical advantages.

18 Dec 2025 - 9:00AMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump expands US travel ban and restrictions to include another 20 countries

The clampdown affects people seeking to travel to the US as visitors as well as those hoping to emigrate there.

17 Dec 2025 - 4:53PM

People protest at Los Angeles International Airport in June, on the first day of the Trump administration’s full ban against travel from 12 countries and a partial ban on seven others. Photo: AFP

Malaysia

Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.

15 Dec 2025 - 8:02AM

Japan

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

Outdated teaching methods and the rise of language translation apps have made most Japanese less inclined to learn English, educators say.

12 Dec 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

China pledges aid to Latin America, Caribbean with no ‘political conditions’

Third strategy paper of its kind released as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in a region Washington actively courts.

11 Dec 2025 - 12:07AMvideocam

A container ship arrives at the Port of Balboa in Panama City, Panama, on October 27. Latin America has emerged as a focal point in the competition between Washington and Beijing. Photo: EPA

China-Latin America relations

US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

At a Senate hearing, officials described Chinese money brokers as key to laundering cartel funds and fuelling the illicit fentanyl trade.

30 Dec 2025 - 5:03AMvideocam

US Customs and Border Protection display plastic bags of fentanyl after being seized at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. US lawmakers say Chinese money brokers and Latin American cartels have merged their operations into a system that blurs the line between trade and trafficking. Photo: Reuters

Thailand

‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

8 Dec 2025 - 9:51AMvideocam

China trade

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:21AMvideocam

United States

US pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The pause applies to people from nations that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June.

3 Dec 2025 - 10:16AM

Women gather next to an anti-US mural in Tehran. The list of countries targeted in the US memorandum includes Iran. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Alibaba

Alibaba’s Cainiao expands service in Africa as demand for Chinese goods surges

The logistics arm of Alibaba is rolling out its small-parcel service in more parts of Africa to tap growing demand for made-in-China goods.

24 Nov 2025 - 8:50PM

Cainaio is expanding in Africa to tap surging demand for made-in-China goods. Photo: Alibaba

Thailand

‘Half of me has died’: toxic mines threaten Southeast Asia’s rivers

More than 2,400 mines – many of which are operated by Chinese companies – are draining waste into river waters, researchers say.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:13PM

Venezuela

US aviation agency warns airlines flying over Venezuela of potential hazards

There has been a huge US military build-up in the region recently, including its largest aircraft carrier, other warships and F-35 aircraft.

22 Nov 2025 - 11:52AM

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Laos

China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline

Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage.

As high-speed railways saturate China, how far can their global reach extend?

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

Australia demands answers from Laos over methanol poisoning ‘injustice’

While 10 were convicted of destroying evidence, not a single person has been charged in connection with the deaths of two Melbourne teens.

‘Deported but not defeated’: the Southeast Asians cast out of Trump’s US

Born in a Thai refugee camp and raised in Texas, Kham Paneboun is now stateless in Laos, one of thousands punished again for old crimes.

Scripts, bank details and military rules: Cambodian scam compound secrets

Mostly run by Chinese criminal gangs and staffed partly by trafficking victims, these complexes have proliferated across Indochina.

New brainer: China’s C929 widebody lands partner to power next-gen flight mind

After Comac secures core flight-system supplier for its widebody jet’s ‘brain’, sourcing the ‘heart’ of the C929 remains a lofty challenge.

Filipino’s death fuels concern over coercive recruitment in Ukraine war

Observers say the case of John Patrick reflects human exploitation and the structural pressure on Russia’s manpower resources.

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

Arriving in handcuffs, the suspects allegedly scammed fellow South Koreans out of US$33 million.

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

The Maduro effect: US raid accelerates Asia’s drift away from Washington

Cambodia, Laos and North Korea are expected to tighten their embrace of Moscow and Beijing amid growing distrust of the US.

More Japanese favour having an empress as Princess Aiko’s public appeal rises

Japan’s conservative politicians are against changing the centuries-old tradition of a male heir for the throne.

Rubio swaps hawk for diplomat in year-end pivot on China

Top US envoy eschews ‘pacing threat’ label, stressing cooperation and Western hemisphere priorities for 2026.

China’s youth-unemployment rate, Laos joins durian war: SCMP daily highlights

From EU-China trade ties to Laos securing approval to export durians, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

Battle for China’s durian market gets even juicier as Laos enters the fray

Laos could present a real challenge to other players in China’s vast durian market due to its low costs and logistical advantages.

Trump expands US travel ban and restrictions to include another 20 countries

The clampdown affects people seeking to travel to the US as visitors as well as those hoping to emigrate there.

Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.

Japan’s English skills crash to record low, behind Laos and Vietnam

Outdated teaching methods and the rise of language translation apps have made most Japanese less inclined to learn English, educators say.

China pledges aid to Latin America, Caribbean with no ‘political conditions’

Third strategy paper of its kind released as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in a region Washington actively courts.

US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

At a Senate hearing, officials described Chinese money brokers as key to laundering cartel funds and fuelling the illicit fentanyl trade.

‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

US pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The pause applies to people from nations that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June.

Alibaba’s Cainiao expands service in Africa as demand for Chinese goods surges

The logistics arm of Alibaba is rolling out its small-parcel service in more parts of Africa to tap growing demand for made-in-China goods.

‘Half of me has died’: toxic mines threaten Southeast Asia’s rivers

More than 2,400 mines – many of which are operated by Chinese companies – are draining waste into river waters, researchers say.

US aviation agency warns airlines flying over Venezuela of potential hazards

There has been a huge US military build-up in the region recently, including its largest aircraft carrier, other warships and F-35 aircraft.

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?