Asian Legal Review

The Philippines has emerged as the clearest example of what observers say is Japan’s shift towards a more active defence role abroad, with both countries deepening their military cooperation in areas ranging from joint drills to technological partnerships.
Japanese forces are taking part for the first time in this year’s Balikatan military exercises hosted by the Philippines, while bilateral cooperation is set to expand after Tokyo eased its defence export rules on Tuesday.
These activities…

A new freedom of speech complaints system could result in England’s universities receiving significant fines if they fail to protect freedom of speech, an expert has said.

Malaysia’s durian growers say they are in “survival mode” as an early bumper harvest collides with a surge in fuel and freight costs, squeezing an export trade built around getting premium fruit into China fast.
Hot weather has brought harvests forward, swelling supply just as exporters face higher packaging, energy and transport costs, with the Iran war disrupting fuel supplies and making cargo more expensive.
The strain is exposing the vulnerability of Malaysia’s durian industry, which has…

Nepal’s home minister stepped down on Wednesday over growing criticism of his finances after less than a month in office he won on an anti-corruption platform.
Sudan Gurung, a key figure in the Gen-Z protests last September that toppled Nepal’s previous government, said he was stepping down to ensure a “fair investigation”.
“I have resigned from the position of Home Minister with effect from today,” the 38-year-old posted on his social media accounts.
“For me, morality is greater than a position…

The bourse operators of Hong Kong and Malaysia are exploring a range of collaborations, from dual listings and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to Islamic finance, to forge closer ties between the city and the Southeast Asian country.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting and Boursa Malaysia CEO Dato Fad’l Mohamed unveiled their joint development plans in a media briefing in Hong Kong on Wednesday as HKEX hosted the 40th Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF)…

South Africa’s independent transmission programme marks a major step forward for the country’s transmission network, but land rights continue to pose an often underestimated challenge for developers and funders.

Malaysia’s Karex, the world’s ⁠top condom producer, plans ⁠to raise prices by 20 per cent to ⁠30 per cent and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag on due to the Iran war, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Karex is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left ‌many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters in an interview.
“The situation is definitely very fragile, prices are expensive … We have…

Indonesia’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday to protect the rights of domestic workers after more than two decades of deliberations and multiple delays.
The bill was first introduced in 2004 to protect the country’s 4.2 million domestic workers, almost 90 per cent of them women, according to data from the Ministry of Manpower.
They were previously not legally classified as workers, meaning they were forced to operate in an informal and unregulated economy, exposed to exploitation and…

A reported US pullback in intelligence-sharing with South Korea has exposed a new trust gap between the allies after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young publicly mentioned a suspected North Korean uranium-enrichment site.
Washington viewed Chung’s remark as disclosing sensitive information about Kusong – a site long discussed in outside analyses, but not previously identified publicly by a South Korean official in such terms – and responded by reducing the intelligence it shared with Seoul,…

Arbitrators can determine what law governs disputes in circumstances where the parties to arbitration agreements have not made it clear what the applicable law is and did not subsequently agree on it during the arbitration, according to a recent ruling in France.