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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.
An elephant clearing logs and debris on December 8 in a village affected by flooding in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia. Photo: AP
Climate change

Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

Environmental crimes and poor oversight are also worsening the risks faced by animals and trees.

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China economy

Opinion | Why China has moved to curb steel exports

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Malaysia: Cambodia, Thailand set for Christmas Eve truce talks after Asean push

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Cambodia

Cambodia: Thai border clashes displace half a million ahead of peace talks

The renewed fighting this month, including with tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia.

People inspect a damaged bridge after Thailand carried out air strikes in an area between Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Thailand

Thailand strikes Cambodia casino, bridge as Asean pushes for peace

Bangkok is expected to urge Phnom Penh to declare a ceasefire at Monday’s Asean talks and join an effort in clearing mine fields.

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Malaysia

31 Malaysians repatriated from Myanmar job scam syndicate

The job scam victims rescued from a Myawaddy job syndicate return home safely after intensive diplomatic negotiations and a 26-hour land journey.

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Cambodia

Thai-Cambodia border dispute reignites with bombing claims of casino hub

Cambodia accuses Thailand of bombing Poipet amid escalating border disputes, prompting Asean emergency talks and global ceasefire appeals.

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A view of the closed Poipet international border checkpoint between Cambodia and Thailand in Poipet town in June. Photo: AFP
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.

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Indonesia

Video | Indonesian minister dismisses Malaysian flood aid, sparking outrage

Tito Karnavian dismissed a US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared with Jakarta’s own disaster response, sparking online criticism.

US-China relations

Senior US and Chinese defence officials continue ‘military-to-military’ dialogue

Talks follow Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s meeting with China’s Minister of National Defence, Admiral Dong Jun, to help stabilise ties.

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met Chinese Minister of National Defence , Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus in Malaysia on October 31. Photo: X/Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
Thailand

Will holiday high season survive Thai-Cambodian border conflict?

Curfews, increased airport screening and the bombing of the province housing Angkor Wat have rattled foreign travellers.

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Displaced residents prepare a shelter at a temporary camp set up outside a pagoda in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province on December 12. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

US denies Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

Washington argues that targeted assistance and partnerships will deepen regional ties and deliver longer-term economic and security gains.

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Mainland China

China-led Asia-Pacific lifts global aviation outlook as profits set to soar

Passenger demand from China and India, eased visa rules and freight resilience drive growth as IATA forecasts record airline profits in 2026.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Xpeng steps up ‘go global’ drive with Malaysian assembly hub for Southeast Asia

The Guangzhou-based company said it would partner with Malaysia’s EP Manufacturing to locally assemble intelligent EVs.

Workers conduct final checks on an Xpeng new energy car at the firm’s plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, on October 9, 2023. Photo: Xinhua
Thailand

Thailand considers blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as conflict escalates

Thailand last year exported 2.2 billion litres of fuel to Cambodia, according to the energy ministry’s data.

People take refuge in Wat Prasat Srahkandal, Banteay Menchey province, Cambodia on Sunday, after fleeing their homes following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. Photo: AP
US-Asean relations

Southeast Asia barely features in America’s new security strategy

The region appears just twice in the new 32-page US National Security Strategy, raising fears it is being relegated to a ‘bargaining chip’.

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The Philippines

Asian Angle | Is the new Philippines-Germany defence pact built to last?

Rising anxieties over Beijing and Moscow have united Berlin and Manila in an axis that must now be institutionalised to ensure it endures.

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Going Global

Chinese companies expand globally

Chinese firms are investing in overseas factories and marketing to develop global brands. Domestic price wars are pushing more companies to go global – “chuhai” in Chinese – in search of new growth opportunities.

Chinese companies expand globally
China-India relations

Trump, Modi have ‘warm’ phone call – but 2025 unlikely to end with a trade deal

Even after calls for India to contribute more in the Indo-Pacific to counter China and deepen defence ties, Trump refuses to budge on trade concessions.

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Thailand

Video | Thai military drones strike Cambodian border

At least 15 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have died in the most recent border clashes.

China economy

Opinion | How China is cementing its central role as the architect of green tech

Beyond climate leadership and capacity building, China is rewriting its own energy system – and the global energy order.

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An aerial view of the No 1 booster station of the Ningxia Power Investment Yongli (Zhongwei) 3-megawatt photovoltaic green power project, in Shapotou district, Zhongwei city, Ningxia. It was officially connected to the grid and began power generation on October 25. Photo : Xinhua
US-China relations

Hegseth’s G2 description for US-China ties ‘problematic’, House Democrat warns

House representative Raja Krishnamoorthi says term sidelines US allies and partners while making Beijing ‘coequal’ to Washington.

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier echoed President Donald Trump in referring to his October summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a “historic G2 meeting”. Photo: Reuters
Thailand

‘Credible mediation’: Asean urged to help halt deadly Thailand-Cambodia clashes

Analysts urge Asean to take ‘urgent, coordinated action’ if it hopes to mediate an end to the Thailand-Cambodia conflict.

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US-China relations

China closes capacity and influence gap with US in Asia, power index finds

Think tank says China may weather geopolitical environment but neighbours are ‘anxious about rising tensions and protectionism’.

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South China Sea

Beijing seeks ‘fair and just maritime order’ in South China Sea

Vice-minister Sun Weidong says China rejects 2016 arbitration ruling on disputed waters because it breaches fundamentals in international law.

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A Chinese coastguard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippine’s BRP Datu Pagbuaya in the South China Sea on October 12. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
Scams and swindles

Letters | Cambodia is confronting the scourge of online scams head-on

Readers discuss the cross-border effort targeting the syndicates behind Cambodia’s scam farms, Malaysia’s first fully home-grown EV, and the investigation into the Tai Po fire in Hong Kong.

Suspects are detained during a police raid on a scam centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 16. The operation was part of a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime networks, following Prime Minister Hun Manet’s order to shut down online scam operations often run like sweatshops. Photo: EPA
Cambodia

Video | Thai-Cambodian border sees renewed clashes

The neighbouring countries’ fragile peace deal is on the verge of collapse amid fresh violence.

Artificial intelligence

‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping to train?

Asia makes the chips driving the AI boom, but the technology threatens to erase jobs and widen the region’s wealth gap, a new UN report says.

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