20 h. ago Thai ruling party courts voters by vowing to end Cambodia conflict, close scam hubs

Thailand’s ruling party, which is seeking to retain power in next month’s election, has vowed to resolve the country’s conflict with Cambodia and clean up its image as a transit hub for trafficked scam victims. The conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which took power in September, has cast itself as the most suitable defender of Thai sovereignty during the border dispute between the two Southeast Asian countries. Clashes erupted for five days last July and reignited in December before a...

Events

21 h. ago What Trump’s visa pause means for Southeast Asia and US regional priorities

The inclusion of four Southeast Asian nations in the United States’ 75-country visa suspension has thrown up questions over Washington’s foreign policy approach, including its interest in the region. Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are among countries affected by the indefinite suspension, set to take effect on January 21, as the Donald Trump administration continues to roll out punitive measures to drastically restrict immigration. The list, released by the US Department of State on...

Politics

3 d. ago Cambodia says Chen Zhi’s extradition to China ‘not the end’ of scam centre crackdown

Cambodia’s arrest of alleged scam centre kingpin Chen Zhi and his extradition to China is “not the end” of the Southeast Asian nation’s battle to stamp out transborder crimes, its foreign minister said. Last week’s surprise arrest of Chinese-born Chen is a key step in an until now fragmented international campaign targeting sophisticated scam networks in Southeast Asia run by criminal gangs, swindling victims worldwide out of billions of dollars. The extradition of Chen, sanctioned by several...

Politics

4 d. ago Malaysians joke they have ‘no oil, only palm oil’ after US Embassy shares space photo

The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur’s attempt to show off an awe-inspiring throwback image from space instead triggered a distinctly Malaysian burst of self-deprecating humour, casting the country as strategically uninteresting amid Washington’s recent foreign policy moves. On Friday, the embassy posted a 2016 photograph taken from the International Space Station showing lightning flashing in clouds high over Malaysia. The caption says the Southeast Asian nation had “never looked more electric”,...

Politics

8 d. ago Southeast Asia reels in buyers stung by Seoul’s housing crisis

Southeast Asian real estate firms are seeking to attract South Koreans to buy property, as soaring flat prices in Seoul make premium homes abroad comparatively more affordable, industry officials said on Friday. PropEasy, a Malaysian developer, recently invited Seoul-based real estate brokers to Kuala Lumpur as part of a promotional campaign for residential projects currently under construction. “The campaign was organised as a three-night, four-day tour,” an industry official said, noting that...

Events

1 week ago Why investors are looking to Southeast Asia’s economies amid global tensions

Foreign money is flowing back into Southeast Asia, and analysts expect the region to remain a draw for global investors even as geopolitical tensions and domestic political risks cloud the outlook. Emerging Southeast Asian markets recorded US$337 million of equity inflow in December last year, the highest monthly figure since September 2024, according to a Bloomberg report. These economies include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Analysts say the rebound points to...

Economics

1 week ago 2 owners of Hong Kong eatery arrested for hiring 5 illegal workers in food factory

Hong Kong immigration authorities have broken up an operation in which two local restaurant owners hired illegal foreign workers at their food factory to supply products to their eatery and culinary fairs in the city. Pau Hiu-fung from the Immigration Department’s foreign domestic helpers investigation section said on Tuesday that two owners of a local Southeast Asian restaurant and five illegal workers they hired were arrested last Saturday. “Our investigations show that the food produced by...

Events

1 week ago Thailand says Cambodia ‘violated’ border ceasefire after strike wounds soldier

Thailand’s army said on Tuesday its Cambodian counterpart claimed fresh cross-border fire was an accident, after Bangkok accused Cambodian forces of violating a 10-day-old truce with a strike that wounded a soldier. The decades-old dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing around 1 million on both sides. The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, ending three weeks...

Events

1 week ago Vietnam overtakes Thailand as Chinese tourists' top choice for travel

Vietnam welcomed a record number of foreign tourists in 2025, as a resurgence of Chinese visitors and relaxed visa policies helped lure travellers. The Southeast Asian nation received around 21.2 million international visitors last year, up 20 per cent, according to the National Statistics Office. Its previous peak was 18 million, recorded in 2019 before the pandemic. Vietnam’s surge is part of a broader realignment in Southeast Asia’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry, largely at the expense...

Politics

2 w. ago Cambodia accuses Thailand of ‘annexing’ Chouk Chey border village despite ceasefire

Cambodia said on Friday that Thai forces had taken control of a disputed border village, accusing Thailand of “annexing” the area after a truce halted deadly fighting along their contested frontier a week ago. The decades-old border dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing more than one million on both sides. The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, pledging to...

Events

2 w. ago Fair or foul? Malaysia struggles to stomach its US trade pact

Janice, a Kuala Lumpur-based food entrepreneur and chef, is in a foul mood as she laments the inferior quality and taste of US-produced chicken and eggs. Yet she concedes that she may have to stomach this unwelcome change in the local poultry market, at least for now. Malaysia is bracing itself for a surge in American poultry shipments under an “agreement on reciprocal trade” signed with Washington in October. The deal opens the Southeast Asian nation to more US exports of food, cars and...

Politics

2 w. ago Fair or fowl? Malaysia struggles to stomach its US trade pact

Janice, a Kuala Lumpur-based food entrepreneur and chef, is in a foul mood as she laments the inferior quality and taste of US-produced chicken and eggs. Yet she concedes that she may have to stomach this unwelcome change in the local poultry market, at least for now. Malaysia is bracing itself for a surge in American poultry shipments under an “agreement on reciprocal trade” signed with Washington in October. The deal opens the Southeast Asian nation to more US exports of food, cars and...

Politics

2 w. ago Philippines in 2025: a year of crisis, from corruption scandal to South China Sea tensions

As the Philippines wraps up a tumultuous year punctuated by colourful barbs thrown across warring political houses, an ongoing corruption scandal surrounding flood control projects threatens to derail President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration. Externally, Manila has been embroiled all year in a long-standing territorial row with Beijing in the South China Sea that shows no signs of waning, while also gearing up for the hot seat as next year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian...

Events

3 w. ago Myanmar polls open amid civil war as junta seeks to prolong power

Overshadowed by civil war and doubts about the credibility of the polls, voters in Myanmar were casting their ballots in a general election starting on Sunday, the first since a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021. The junta that has since ruled Myanmar says the vote is a chance for a fresh start politically and economically for the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. But the election has been derided by critics – including the United Nations, some Western countries and...

Events

3 w. ago Trip.com suspends tourism partnership with Cambodia amid border clashes, cyber concerns

Trip.com Group, the biggest online travel agency in China, said on Thursday that its partnership with Cambodia’s tourism authority was suspended, in a move to address the Chinese public’s heightened sensitivity over safety in the Southeast Asian country. The company, which operates the Ctrip and Qunar sites in mainland China, said the collaboration – originally scheduled to run from September 2025 to March 2026 – “had been suspended due to recent safety alerts issued by the Chinese Embassy in...

Politics

3 w. ago Indonesians see red after porn star Bonnie Blue uses flag to ‘wipe the floor’

Controversial British adult film star Bonnie Blue has again earned the wrath of Indonesia after a video of her insulting the Southeast Asian nation’s flag went viral on social media. In a clip filmed in front of Jakarta’s embassy in London, Blue, who was deported from Bali earlier this month, is seen holding the red-and-white flag surrounded by a group of masked men. “Yes, I got arrested in Bali, and so for my last time, I came to the embassy so they could watch in person,” said the 26-year-old,...

Politics

3 w. ago Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

As climate change fuels more frequent floods and storms across Southeast Asia, forests and wildlife are being pushed to their breaking point, with conservationists and scientists warning of a worsening impact on ecosystems due to a lack of oversight and countermeasures. In late November, cyclone-driven rains battered Indonesia’s Sumatra island, triggering floods and landslides that killed more than 1,000 people, left hundreds missing and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, according...

Events

3 w. ago Nvidia’s Biggest Southeast Asian Partner Dogged by China Chip Smuggling Questions

Nvidia’s Biggest Southeast Asian Partner Dogged by China Chip Smuggling Questions  Bloomberg.com

Politics

4 w. ago Russia slams ‘unfounded’ claims of citizens fighting for Cambodia in Thailand border war

Russia has dismissed reports of its nationals fighting for Cambodia in the escalating border clash with Thailand, saying the “unfounded assertions undermine” the traditionally friendly ties between Moscow and Bangkok. The Russian embassy in the Southeast Asian kingdom said in a social media post on Monday that the claims emerged from outside Thailand. Thailand and Cambodia are locked in a deadly conflict that has killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the...

Events