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The Philippines
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The Philippines

The Philippines
The Philippines
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on the Philippines, covering politics, economy, society, and Manila’s relationships with China and its Southeast Asian neighbours.
A Jollibee fast-food restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Eugene Lee
Food and Drinks

Why Philippines’ Jollibee is Southeast Asia’s lone global food chain

The company is the only Southeast Asian name to make the top tier of a recent list of the world’s strongest restaurant brands, placing fifth.

Asean

Asean trade strategy: diversifying beyond US and Chinese markets

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China's military weapons

Could PLA’s new shipborne drone redefine South China Sea naval operations?

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Video | ‘Cockroach lord’ defends misunderstood bugs

The soft-spoken 31-year-old scientist has been dubbed the ‘cockroach lord’ and is credited with discovering 15 roach species.

Philippines cockroach lord.
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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong students honour over 400 foreign domestic helpers as ‘second mothers’

Renaissance College’s annual ‘Jie Jie Day’ engages participants with cultural games, raffle draws and networking opportunities.

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China-Asean relations

Will Paracels dispute overshadow China-Vietnam drive for closer strategic ties?

Foreign, defence and public security ministers are to meet after images suggested China had started land reclamation work at Antelope Reef.

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Hong Kong transport

Greater Bay Airlines to raise fuel surcharges, joining Hong Kong rivals

Surcharge on flights originating from Hong Kong for all destinations except mainland China and the Maldives will increase by 104 per cent.

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Greater Bay Airlines and Cathay Pacific aircrafts parked at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: May Tse
Asean

Philippines urges Asean to be global investment safe haven amid Middle East war

This year’s Asean chair calls on the bloc to ensure investment ‘certainty’ at the opening of the foreign ministers meeting in Manila.

SCMP Highlights

China’s arms imports plummet, Hong Kong couple’s Dubai exit: 7 highlights

From missile concerns in the Philippines to China’s rejection of Musk’s space-AI plan, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.

United States

250 men went down with a WWII ‘hell ship’. Now the US is coming back for them

Eight decades after the Oryoku Maru was sunk by American bombs, specialist divers are returning to retrieve the 250 men still trapped inside.

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Hundreds perished when the Japanese “hell ship” Oryoku Maru was sunk in 1944. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
South China Sea

Philippines’ bid for UN Security Council seat sidesteps maritime row

As a potential council member, the Philippines is expected to address broader global security issues and be a ‘responsible middle power’.

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Members of the UN Security Council listen as Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, speaks at the UN headquarters on January 15. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Energy

Opinion | Why Asia’s future depends on breaking the shackles of fossil fuels

The choice facing Asia is clear: pay the large, one-time cost of transition or keep paying the unpredictable price of vulnerability.

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US, Israel war on Iran

‘Bored, scared’: 6,000 Filipino sailors stranded by Strait of Hormuz closure

Iranian strikes have effectively shut off the strait, which carries 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

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Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Marcos ‘angry’ over official’s ‘mistreatment’ of OFWs in Bahrain

A video shows the official shooing away Filipino workers seeking financial help outside the Philippine embassy in Bahrain.

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A Philippine official from the Migrant Workers Office (right) telling Filipino workers stranded in Bahrain that they are unable to receive financial support outside Manila’s embassy in the kingdom. Photo: Facebook/DDS News
Singapore

As Iran war fuels oil crisis, Southeast Asia’s small firms could be hit hardest

Observers say SMEs are typically more vulnerable as they have less capital to absorb sudden increases in operating costs.

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Smoke continues to rise after a reported strike on fuel tanks in an oil refinery, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. Photo: WANA via Reuters
Scams and swindles

150,000 Meta accounts shut down in Southeast Asian scam centre crackdown

Meta has also launched protective tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp alerts for suspicious friend requests and activities.

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Taiwan

How Iran’s strikes on US bases could offer a preview for the Asia-Pacific

Tehran’s retaliation against Washington’s Gulf allies offers lessons for a potential Taiwan conflict, analysts say.

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Energy

Iran war threatens prolonged energy shock, slower growth for Asia

Observers say an extended disruption of energy flows could mean persistently higher fuel costs and widening trade deficits for Asian importers.

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A man carries a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder in Mumbai on Wednesday. India has implemented several measures to secure energy supplies and manage demand. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

As US missiles leave South Korea, the Philippines asks: are we next?

South Korea couldn’t stop the pull-out. Now, Manila must figure out if it is indeed a strategic partner or just another supply depot.

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Banking & finance

Deutsche Bank bets on Hong Kong boom as Asian billionaires look beyond US assets

Hong Kong is becoming a focal point for Asian billionaires seeking to pivot away from US exposure, Deutsche Bank’s private bank says.

Energy

Philippines’ fuel shock exposes limits of deregulated oil market

Consumer groups say households are left to absorb rising costs as the government rolls out conservation measures and considers fuel tax relief.

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Protesters hold slogans that read “Junk the oil deregulation law” during a rally against the recent big oil price increase on Tuesday outside a petrol station in Quezon City, the Philippines. Photo: AP
Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

11 domestic helpers among 20 arrested in Hong Kong crackdown on illegal labour

Six residents among those arrested are the owners or in charge of companies allegedly involved.

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The Immigration Department carried out a three-day operation across the city. Photo: Handout
US, Israel war on Iran

Asia sees violence, fuel rationing, queues as energy crunch over war hits

In Bangladesh a man was killed and the military has been deployed, while lines have formed elsewhere too, as many nations rely on imports.

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Infrastructure

‘Ghost projects’ push Philippines to record US$26.5 billion budget deficit

A widening deficit and falling revenue are ‘direct, quantifiable effects’ of an investigation into the flood-control scandal, economists say.

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Weather

A heatwave is coming to Southeast Asia. So is an energy shock

Indonesia and Malaysia are set to feel the worst of an early summer first, compounding an LNG supply crisis triggered by the Iran war.

A women uses an electric fan to cool off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Taiwan tensions No 1 in Beijing’s top 10 geopolitical risks of 2026: think tank

Most consequential external security variable may be uncertainty in the US ahead of the midterm elections in November, report warns.

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A report has identified escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait as the most pressing external security concern for Beijing. Photo: AP
Philippines insurgency

Asia’s longest communist revolt is dying, Manila says. The rebels disagree

The Philippine military claims the 56-year insurgency is near the finish line. But veteran rebels say the roots of rebellion remain.

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Two Sessions 2025

Beijing signals high hopes for South China Sea ‘golden rules’ by end of year

Wang Yi voices ‘determination’ to work with rival claimants yet urges Manila to ‘be aware of its responsibility’.

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