Japan and India held inaugural security talks on Saturday at which they are expected to affirm coordination in building a free and open Indo-Pacific in a veiled counter to China’s rising assertiveness and military build-up.Meeting in New Delhi, the foreign and defence ministers of the two Asian democracies will speed up negotiations for an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, or ACSA, which would allow the two sides to share defence capabilities and supplies including fuel and ammunition,…
Malaysia uses up US$49 million raised by public to pay towards 1MDB debt
Malaysia’s Hope Fund has been exhausted as the government used all 205 million ringgit (US$49 million) it raised from the public to pay off some of 1MDB’s debt, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said.The Finance Ministry set up Tabung Harapan, or the Hope Fund, following a shock election victory in May 2018 by a coalition led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.The fund drew contributions from Malaysians as well as businesses eager to help after the government said the country’s debt was higher than…
Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand: the new frontiers in US-China battle for influence
While the United States has turned a new page in its relations with former adversary Vietnam, cracks in ties with long-standing allies the Philippines and Thailand present challenges for its foreign policy in Southeast Asia. The bid to strengthen its historical alliances in the region – and win a new partner – will test Washington’s ability to sustain its post-war hub-and-spokes system of influence while trying to enlarge it against the backdrop of China’s growing economic and political clout.
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Rodrigo Duterte offers to lead Philippine police force himself if he cannot find an ‘honest man’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte this week suggested he could assume leadership of the country’s national police force as his signature crackdown on drugs comes under renewed scrutiny.The position of he Philippine National Police (PNP) director general has been vacant since Oscar Albayalde stepped down last month after becoming embroiled in a scandal over “ninja cops” accused of confiscating drugs and then selling them.Duterte on Thursday insisted the next chief of the PNP would need to…
Muslim preacher Zakir Naik sues Malaysian MP over comments on Tamil Tigers-linked arrests
Controversial Muslim televangelist Zakir Naik, who set up shop in Malaysia while criminal investigations continue in his home country India, has taken legal action against a local member of parliament over alleged defamation following remarks the politician made about recent arrests under a draconian counterterrorism law.MP Charles Santiago, a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which is part of Malaysia’s ruling coalition, on Tuesday offered his opinions on the arrests last month of…
Singapore’s oversupply of flats could hit property prices, central bank warns
An oversupply of flats threatens to lower Singapore’s property prices, the city state’s central bank has warned.The number of unsold units from new projects doubled to 4,377 in the third quarter, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its annual Financial Stability Review released on Thursday.The overhang will probably “be exacerbated in the medium term” as developers launch projects from a series of redevelopment or “en bloc” deals struck in the past two years, MAS said.In wealthy…
North Korean children ‘in constant danger’ of sexual abuse, South Korean rights group reports
North Korean children are “constantly in danger” of sexual abuse and resulting social stigma without any chance to seek legal protection, a Seoul-based rights group said on Wednesday.Activists with PSCORE, or People for Successful Corean Reunification, interviewed more than 200 young male and female North Koreans who had fled to settle in the affluent, democratic South for a study on child abuse at home, at school and in state facilities such as prison camps and orphanages.In a 195-page report,…
China could be Trojan Horse for Philippines, senator says, as fears grow over access to power grid
Philippine opposition senator Risa Hontiveros has said she will press for a full-blown Senate inquiry into allegations that China can remotely shut down the Southeast Asian nation’s power grid.The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which operates the network, broke a week-long silence on Wednesday by denying the claim and labelling it “baseless” and “purely speculative”.NGCP spokeswoman Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said on national television that there were “several safeguards and…
Wife of Taiwan presidential hopeful Han Kuo-yu scraps Singapore stop on campaign tour
The wife of Taiwanese presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu has cancelled a trip to Singapore over “security concerns” and the city state’s prohibition on “foreign political activities” within its territory.Lee Chia-fen, who is currently in Malaysia, has visited several Asian countries including Japan, Cambodia and Indonesia to drum up support for Han ahead of his election showdown with President Tsai Ing-wen in January.The campaign office for Han, who represents the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang,…
Two Chinese among suspects arrested for dumping toxic waste in Philippines
Two Chinese and seven Filipinos have been arrested for dumping possibly radioactive waste from South Korea in a northwestern Philippine town, officials said on Tuesday.The National Bureau of Investigation said the coastguard seized a Liberian-registered vessel, the M/V Dayang Century, and two smaller craft used to dump tons of phosphogypsum on a riverbank in Cabangan town in Zambales province.The suspects were involved in transporting about 53,000 tons of phosphogypsum, a toxic by-product of…