Japan and Australia said on Saturday they have finalised contracts to jointly deliver the first three of 11 ships for the Australian navy based on the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate, as the two countries deepen their defence cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness.
The deal, announced by Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles in Melbourne, comes ahead of Japan’s planned easing of its rules on defence equipment exports, which place…
In Bangkok, Malaysia’s first Mr Bear winner finds spotlight queer life rarely gets at home
On Monday afternoon, amid the heat and chaos of Thailand’s Songkran festival, Gavin Chow was crowned Mr Bear International 2026 – the first Malaysian to win the title at a pageant that has quickly become part of Thailand’s growing queer festival circuit.
Back in Chow’s home country, the climate is very different.
Malaysia criminalises same-sex intimacy under federal law, LGBTQ gatherings have faced police raids and the 34-year-old activist’s own national qualifier earlier this year struggled to…
‘Disappointing’ UK tax ruling will hit projects across sectors, say experts
The costs developers commonly incur in carrying out surveys and studies needed to move forward with major projects do not qualify for tax relief in the form of capital allowances under UK tax law, the UK Supreme Court has ruled.
Arrest of Philippine ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co ‘missing puzzle piece’ in flood-control probe
The arrest of fugitive former congressman Zaldy Co has revived a long-stalled Philippine corruption investigation and sharpened political pressure on President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, whom the wanted lawmaker has accused of personally benefiting from a multibillion-peso kickback scheme tied to flood control projects.
Observers called Co’s arrest a “notable step towards accountability” in a case that had stalled after the collapse of the commission set up to investigate it.
Co resigned from the…
Vietnam and China are now perfectly aligned
Even before Donald Trump returned to the White House, Vietnam’s military planners were already busy preparing for a possible second invasion by the United States and its allies. In the “Second US Invasion Plan”, secretly issued in August 2024, the Vietnamese military rejected playing any part in America’s China containment strategy in the Asia-Pacific.
Rather, it sees the US promotion of “freedom and democracy” as a cynical ploy to maintain hegemony in the region. The document, released in…
CJEU makes pastiche ruling in long-running Kraftwerk sampling case
A new ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on one of the longest running court cases in music brings much needed clarity over the rules around copyright, according to an expert.
Trade tensions make rest of world less keen to invest in US and China, survey finds
Trade tensions between the US and China have made companies around the world less keen to invest in either country, with the United States almost twice as unpopular, according to a new report from Allianz Trade.
The report, based on an annual survey by the Paris-based international insurance company, said US-China decoupling had not materialised, but investment intention towards China had dropped “significantly” to 24 per cent of survey respondents, down from 53 per cent a year ago.
The survey…
Malaysia and Australia strike energy supply pledge to bypass Iran war disruptions
Malaysia and Australia pledged on Thursday to keep oil and gas flowing between them as the Iran war’s continuous squeeze on global fuel supplies compels regional countries to deepen energy trade cooperation.
Across Asia, governments have been scrambling for alternatives after crude oil and gas shipments from the Middle East were disrupted following Tehran’s move to choke access to the Strait of Hormuz in response to US-Israeli strikes against Iran that began on February 28.
The disruption has…
CBK gives banks ‘operational headroom’ to absorb potential shocks
New measures introduced by Kuwait’s Central Bank (CBK) signal the bank’s concerted efforts to respond proactively to the challenging geopolitical environment, experts have said.
Why Southeast Asian nations are hesitant to join major US-Philippine Balikatan drills
Balikatan, the flagship annual military exercise between Manila and Washington, begins in the Philippines this month without a single neighbouring Southeast Asian member taking part, despite the drills’ growing scale and multinational reach.
Analysts say that hesitation helps explain Balikatan’s place in the region: for some Asean members, it is a reassuring sign of US commitment, but joining it risks looking like a strategic choice in the sharpening rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
“To…