This Week in Asia /

Politics

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Asean
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Iraqis burn an image of US President Donald Trump on Tuesday during a rally held in Basra in solidarity with Iran’s government. Photo: Reuters
Iran

Trump vs Iran: Gulf allies fear US ‘help’ may unleash chaos

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are urging against military action, even as the US president teases that ‘help is on its way’.

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South Korea

South Korea’s Yoon could become ‘martyr’ if given death penalty: analysts

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Japan

Japan’s ‘love hotel’ mayor stages comeback, shattering political taboos

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Malaysia

‘No oil here’: Malaysians turn US embassy space post into foreign-policy satire

The embassy’s International Space Station image prompted self-deprecating jokes about oil, US power and being strategically uninteresting.

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A worker carries a bunch of oil palm fruit at a plantation in Slim River, Malaysia. Malaysians repeatedly referenced palm oil in online jokes responding to a recent US embassy space photo, stressing the country has palm oil rather than crude petroleum. Photo: Reuters
A worker carries a bunch of oil palm fruit at a plantation in Slim River, Malaysia. Malaysians repeatedly referenced palm oil in online jokes responding to a recent US embassy space photo, stressing the country has palm oil rather than crude petroleum. Photo: Reuters
Thailand

Money for babies, combat pay: Thailand’s poll turns into a cash splash contest

From US$2,000 for newborns to debt write-offs, Thai political parties are dangling a raft of handouts in a bid to woo voters on February 8.

Japan

Japan PM seeks unity with South Korea’s Lee as China tensions persist

Takaichi aims to bolster ties with Seoul by avoiding ‘divisive’ issues as Tokyo grapples with Beijing’s economic retaliation.

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Japan

Japan’s top diplomat heads to Philippines with South China Sea top of mind

The talks are likely to focus on Manila’s push for a South China Sea code with ‘teeth’ as this year’s Asean chair, analysts say.

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Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi looks on during a meeting in Israel on Sunday. He is due in Manila on Thursday. Photo: AP
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi looks on during a meeting in Israel on Sunday. He is due in Manila on Thursday. Photo: AP
North Korea

‘Gang of hooligans’: rebuke from North Korea signals icy ties with South

The unusually coarse language from Kim Jong-un’s sister shows that Pyongyang has no intention of reconciling with Seoul, experts say.

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The Philippines

Exclusive | Philippine army colonel faces charges after anti-Marcos post goes viral

Audie Mongao will also undergo psychiatric tests after he sparked a political storm by withdrawing support for the president.

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Pacific nations

US strips moral framing from foreign aid in ‘America first’ pivot

US funding for the Asia-Pacific now ties aid to business and security wins, a move analysts condemn as a ‘corrosive’ shift.

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US President Donald Trump meets fishermen and women from American Samoa in the White House last year as he signs a proclamation expanding US fishing rights in the Pacific. Photo: EPA-EFE
Iran

‘Something has to give’: Iran on the brink as protest fury mounts

Weakened by conflict with Israel and a plummeting currency, analysts say the regime faces a choice between radical reform or collapse.

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Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: TNS
Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: TNS
North Korea

North Korea revives drone claims in rebuff to Seoul’s outreach

Analysts dismiss the ‘implausible’ breach involving low-tech devices as a ploy, backing Seoul’s denial that its military was involved.

Singapore

Could Singapore remove Pritam Singh as Leader of the Opposition?

Parliament will soon debate a motion to consider whether Singh’s ‘conviction and conduct render him unsuitable to continue’ in the role.

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Bangladesh

India-Bangladesh talks over Ganges waters may turn murky over politics, UN pact

Bangladesh’s election, Hasina’s presence in India and Dhaka’s signing of the UN water convention could complicate the 1996 Ganges agreement.

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A boy plays with a football on the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi, India. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

Why the Philippines is taking control of undersea cable security

The moves will help strengthen regional stability and prevent Indo-Pacific connectivity from being quietly weaponised, analysts say.

Philippine Navy personnel during a joint military exercise with Australia last year. The navy says it is exploring ways to monitor undersea cables. Photo: Facebook/Armed Forces of the Philippines
Philippine Navy personnel during a joint military exercise with Australia last year. The navy says it is exploring ways to monitor undersea cables. Photo: Facebook/Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Philippines

Philippine navy ‘up to the challenge’ of defending territory in South China Sea

Manila is banking on modern ships and global alliances to challenge China’s increasing presence in the contentious waters.

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Japan

Japan’s Takaichi tipped for snap election gamble as poll ratings soar

The Japanese prime minister has won plaudits at home over her tough stance towards China, but inflation remains a major voter concern.

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Malaysia

Malaysian military in firing line over procurement cartel claims

The detention of senior figures in the anti-corruption probe is ‘highly significant and rare’ in Malaysia’s defence history, analysts say.

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Malaysian army troops march in formation for National Day celebrations. Photo: AP
Malaysian army troops march in formation for National Day celebrations. Photo: AP
The Philippines

Uniform justice? Why Philippine military expelled a lawmaker but not VP Duterte

Sources said legal ambiguity and political risk shaped how the armed forces handled two high-profile reservist cases.

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Malaysia

Fear grips Malaysian city of Klang after string of gang shootings

A former MP blames the deadly violence on a resurgence in gang wars and criminal rings recruiting young boys to protect their territory.

Singapore

Singapore’s ex-PM says US raid in Venezuela is worrying for small countries

The city state has always made its stance clear on such issues, such as when it opposed the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, the ex-PM says.

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Protesters outside the US embassy in Jakarta step on a poster with the image of US President Donald Trump during an anti-US rally on Tuesday, after the US raided Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Photo: Reuters
Saudi Arabia

US allies Saudi Arabia, UAE risk a split in Middle East over competing visions

A ‘new order’ is emerging as Abu Dhabi-backed separatist allies clash with pro-Riyadh governments in the region.

Southern Transitional Council security personnel guard a checkpoint in Aden, Yemen, on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Southern Transitional Council security personnel guard a checkpoint in Aden, Yemen, on Monday. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

South Korea’s conservatives attempt break from Yoon with martial law apology

Yoon Suk-yeol’s former ruling party has offered a belated mea culpa, but critics see the move as nothing more than a cynical election ploy.

The Philippines

Philippines investigates claims of Chinese dredger using ‘30 identities’

A US-based maritime monitoring group has alleged a Chinese ship used different identities and flags while working in Philippine waters.

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.

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Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro is led into custody by US Drug Enforcement Administration officers at an airbase in New York on Saturday. Photo: Handout/Reuters
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