Asian Legal Review

In a layered signal to Indo-Pacific nations and America’s domestic audience, the Trump administration last week said the US Indo-Pacific Command would revert to its long-used name, the US Pacific Command. The Honolulu-headquartered command was renamed in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
The administrative order by the Department of Defence was justified to honour the legacy of America’s oldest and largest unified combatant command, established in 1947. In the run-up to the 250th…

A woman who appeared in videos allegedly showing a group of Malaysian tourists mocking locals in China as “smelly” has apologised after days of criticism from social media users in Malaysia and China.
Nur Asyiqin Mohd Dalil came under scrutiny after the clips went viral, with users criticising the remarks as insulting to locals in China and saying they reflected poorly on Malaysians abroad.
In a statement posted on her TikTok page, @ekyn.wong, on Saturday, she said she took full responsibility…

The Indonesian government announced Thursday that the upstream oil and gas sector will be exempted from the controversial single-gate export centralization policy, a significant reversal that underscores the political economy’s sensitivity in a capital-intensive industry reliant on foreign investment.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told delegates at the 2026 Indonesian Petroleum Association Convention and Exhibition in BSD City that the regulation under PP No. 21/2026 will not apply to upstream oil and gas operations. “I bring a special message from the President: the regulation does not apply to the upstream oil and gas sector. So, there is no need to worry, it’s business as usual,” he said.

Under a separate concession, Bahlil also confirmed that oil and gas exporters face different deposit rules than other exporters. Forex retention in the sector will be capped at 10 to 30 percent, reflecting heavy reliance on foreign financing.

The exemptions come days after President Prabowo announced on May 20 that key commodity exports — crude palm oil, coal, and ferroalloys — would be channeled through a single state-owned enterprise, PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI). The government aims to prevent under-invoicing and transfer pricing fraud, which officials said could be costing the state up to US$150 billion annually.

During a June-to-September trial phase, exporting firms will still conduct direct transactions with buyers, but DSI handles export filing. From January 2027, DSI takes full control of export contracts, shipments, and payments. A later phase will expand the list to all strategic natural resource commodities.

The policy has drawn business pushback. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association warned that existing contracts, permits, and shipping schedules complicate any abrupt shift, while industry groups fear a de facto monopoly that could undermine buyer confidence across ASEAN markets.

Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto confirmed the revised regulation allows exporters to place part of their proceeds outside the Himbara banking consortium. The government also halved the currency conversion limit for FTA trading partners from 100 percent to 50 percent.

For ASEAN, Indonesia’s unilateral trade policy marks a significant shift in how Southeast Asia’s largest economy manages commodity export flows. Analysts warn it could trigger regional pushback and complicate Jakarta’s standing in ASEAN economic cooperation frameworks.

The spectacle of US President Donald Trump thanking China for staying “neutral” with regard to the US-Israeli war against Iran would have been unthinkable a year ago.
Yet at the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, he credited Beijing – alongside Moscow – with preventing a full-blown catastrophe. His observation that China “could have sent in an oil ship with six destroyers alongside of it, on each side” but chose restraint, captured the essence of Beijing’s strategic…

Read the full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3354057/indonesias-oil-hub-plan-collides-aseans-trust-deficit

Theatre chain Golden Village (GV) and film distributor Clover Films have added eight more screenings of Dear You in its original Teochew language in Singapore.
The additional screenings will take place from June 25 to 29 at GVmax at GV VivoCity. Tickets will go on sale at 3pm on June 22 via GV’s box office counters and online channels.
The move comes after all eight of the Chinese film’s previously announced Teochew-language screenings, held from June 18 to 21, sold out.
Directed and co-written…

Led by Japan, East Asia seems to be setting off along a road to nowhere – beyond tension and maybe eventual conflict. This may seem a harsh indictment yet consecutive Japanese leaders have shown a lack of vision on the constructive role their country could play in achieving regional peace and economic integration.
The latest manifestation of this is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal this past week to G7 leaders in France to coordinate the stockpiling of critical minerals,…

As Southeast Asia grapples with energy supply uncertainty, fallout from the Iran conflict and intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, Russia appears to be presenting itself as a viable “third power” option for the region, analysts say.
Moscow’s pitch was on display at the Asean-Russia Commemorative Summit in Kazan on Thursday, where Russian leader Vladimir Putin met regional counterparts, and the two sides agreed to bolster political and economic ties, alongside several…

North Korea’s Kim ⁠Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, condemned a G7 call for the country’s denuclearisation as a violation of its constitution and an infringement of ‌sovereignty, state media KCNA said on Thursday.
Kim said denuclearisation was an “irreversibly finalised agenda” that could never be realised, and that nuclear possession was North Korea’s core interest and an irreversible line, the statement carried by KCNA said.
“Denuclearisation is the line ⁠of no retreat that…

A Vietnamese police operation rescued about 400 pet cats destined for the dinner plate, uncovering a nationwide racket fuelling the country’s rampant pet meat trade that uses a criminal corridor running from the south to the north.
Hundreds of desperate cat owners rushed to a Ho Chi Minh police headquarters over the weekend to see if their lost pet was among the cats rescued from traffickers by police.
In what is believed to be one of the largest busts of its kind, police said the cats were…