19 h. ago Thailand’s next PM Anutin reaffirms promise to hold fresh election

Thailand’s next prime minister on Saturday pledged to make good on his promise to lead the fractured interim government to new polls. Conservative tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul was confirmed by parliament on Friday, ending a week-long power vacuum following the ousting of his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The construction magnate cobbled together a coalition of opposition blocs to shut out Pheu Thai, the electoral vehicle of the once-dominant Shinawatra dynasty’s patriarch Thaksin. Anutin...

Politics

26 h. ago Asian Angle | Anatomy of choice: why Southeast Asia is aligning with China

Asian Angle | Anatomy of choice: why Southeast Asia is aligning with China  South China Morning Post

Politics

42 h. ago China’s parade signals power shift, cold war parallels, says Cornell expert

China’s parade signals power shift, cold war parallels, says Cornell expert  Cornell University

Events

43 h. ago China’s ‘silent sanction’ on US semiconductors creates a weapons generation gap

In addition to the spectacle of Wednesday’s military parade in Tiananmen Square, with its rows of never-before-seen weapons and equipment, was a less visible but highly consequential shift. At its heart lies China’s growing dominance in gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, giving it a strategic advantage that is reshaping the global arms race, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics. “Behind this technological advancement lies a ‘hidden thread’...

Events

2 d. ago China's lavish military parade could signal an attempted shift in world order

China's lavish military parade could signal an attempted shift in world order  CBC

Events

3 d. ago How 2 colours are fuelling Indonesia’s revolt against widening inequality

“RESET SYSTEM” reads graffiti above an intersection in the Javanese city of Yogyakarta, painted hastily in vibrant green and pink after deadly protests swept Indonesia last week. Pink and green have quickly come to symbolise a solidarity movement after violent protests, sparked by discontent over economic inequality and lavish perks for lawmakers, rocked Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. In the capital Jakarta, office worker Dila paused at her desk to apply a bright green and pink filter to her...

Politics

3 d. ago China starts aviation training for Southeast Asia amid C919, home

China is training representatives from Southeast Asia this month in an effort to promote its home-grown civilian aircraft, as the region leads the world in accepting Chinese deliveries despite Airbus and Boeing’s dominance. Twenty participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in the 2025 China-Asean Civil Aviation Management Capacity Enhancement Workshop in Beijing, which started Monday. Organised by the Civil Aviation...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Stay vigilant’: Singapore elevates turbulence to top aviation safety risk

Singapore has pledged to strengthen aviation safety practices around in-flight turbulence after two accidents last year that resulted in one fatality and multiple injuries. Severe turbulence will now be classified as a state-level operational safety risk, alongside runway incursions, mid-air collisions and system failures, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in its Singapore National Aviation Safety Plan for 2025-2027, released on Wednesday. The report identified 45 actions to...

Events

3 d. ago How an SCO development bank could shift the global financial order

At the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged member states to accelerate the creation of an SCO development bank, a proposal that could mark a turning point in Asia’s financial landscape. While headlines focused on the high-profile presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi’s proposal points to the SCO’s evolution from a security bloc into a financial actor. Xi also pledged US$1.4...

Economics

3 d. ago China’s economic summit and military parade may signal a geopolitical shift

China’s economic summit and military parade may signal a geopolitical shift  PBS

Politics

3 d. ago Missing Malaysian airman found at girlfriend’s home after 10 days

A Royal Malaysian Air Force personnel member who was reported missing since August 24 was found at a condominium on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. According to police, Muhammad Ammar Mohd Ariffin, 27, was discovered at his girlfriend’s residence. “The airman, who had earlier been reported missing, was found together with his girlfriend at her unit,” Serdang police chief Muhamad Farid Ahmad said. The discovery was made by an investigative team from the Serdang police headquarters....

Society

3 d. ago Missing Malaysian airman was hiding at girlfriend’s home for 10 days

A Royal Malaysian Air Force personnel member who was reported missing since August 24 was found at a condominium on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. According to police, Muhammad Ammar Mohd Ariffin, 27, was discovered at his girlfriend’s residence. “The airman, who had earlier been reported missing, was found together with his girlfriend at her unit,” Serdang police chief Muhamad Farid Ahmad said. The discovery was made by an investigative team from the Serdang police headquarters....

Society

3 d. ago Thai Airways defies Chinese tourist slump with global growth

Thai Airways International’s diversified global markets are buffering Thailand’s national carrier from decreasing Chinese tourists to the Southeast Asian country, according to Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri. “It is a different picture between Thailand and Thai Airways,” Chai said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Lingering safety concerns stemming from news of a failed kidnapping near Thailand’s border with Myanmar of Chinese actor Wang Xing early this year continue to weigh on...

Society

3 d. ago China’s ‘Arctic Express’ shows its ambitions at the top of the world

Could a single shipping route shift both trade flows and geopolitical influence? China’s new “Arctic Express” to Europe leverages melting ice to bypass chokepoints and challenge Western dominance. In a significant step for Arctic commercial shipping, China’s Haijie Shipping Company will launch the first regular container service linking Asia and Northern Europe via the Northern Sea Route on September 20. The Istanbul Bridge, with a 4,890 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) capacity and a low ice...

Politics

3 d. ago How China’s ‘Arctic Express’ poses challenge to Western dominance

Could a single shipping route shift both trade flows and geopolitical influence? China’s new “Arctic Express” to Europe leverages melting ice to bypass chokepoints and challenge Western dominance. In a significant step for Arctic commercial shipping, China’s Haijie Shipping Company will launch the first regular container service linking Asia and Northern Europe via the Northern Sea Route on September 20. The Istanbul Bridge, with a 4,890 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) capacity and a low ice...

Politics

4 d. ago Hungry for justice: Southeast Asia sends Indonesia’s protesters food, solidarity

It began with a few Malaysians buying meals on Grab for strangers across the Java Sea. Within days, thousands were taking part, from Manila to Bangkok, sending food to Indonesian delivery riders caught in the turmoil of mass protest. Struggling food delivery riders, emblematic of Indonesia’s urban underclass, have become the focus of sympathy, solidarity and support from across Southeast Asia. Starting last week, thousands of social media users from around the region began ordering meals via the...

Society

4 d. ago Thailand acting leader moves to dissolve parliament to block rival’s PM bid

Thailand’s acting prime minister has moved to dissolve parliament, his party said on Wednesday, after the largest opposition party backed a rival candidate for prime minister. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ousted last week by the Constitutional Court, leaving a power vacuum in the kingdom’s top office. Her Pheu Thai party – still governing in a caretaker capacity – was jostling for support from the largest opposition bloc, the People’s Party, to confirm a new candidate for prime...

Politics

4 d. ago Thailand’s acting leader moves to dissolve parliament to block rival’s PM bid

Thailand’s acting prime minister has moved to dissolve parliament, his party said on Wednesday, after the largest opposition party backed a rival candidate to lead the country. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ousted last week by the Constitutional Court over her handling of a border row with Cambodia, leaving a power vacuum in the kingdom’s top office as rival factions jostled to replace her. Her Pheu Thai party – still governing in a caretaker capacity – was jostling for support from...

Politics

4 d. ago Indonesia’s Prabowo visits China after initially cancelling trip over protests

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will visit China for a military parade commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II on Wednesday, a minister said, after earlier cancelling his trip over deadly protests last week stoked by the death of a young delivery driver. “Tonight, President Prabowo Subianto departed for Beijing, China, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. He monitored the situation and received reports from all relevant officials that public life was gradually returning...

Events

4 d. ago 400 Indonesian children ill after eating Prabowo’s free school meals

Around 400 children have fallen ill after eating free school meals in Indonesia’s western Bengkulu Province in the worst case of mass food poisoning to date linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship food programme. Prabowo launched the programme of free meals for children and pregnant women in January, but the initiative has been marred by mass food poisoning across the archipelago, affecting hundreds of people. Last month, 365 people fell ill from free school meals in Central Java....

Politics