The West misunderstands China’s efforts at boosting innovation and satisfying domestic demand as seeking to undermine foreign competitors. While oversupply is a valid concern, a bigger problem is concentrated production among a small cluster of firms which US tariffs on China will not address.
Elon Musk, Indonesian health minister launch Starlink satellite internet service for healthcare sector
Indonesia is the third country in Southeast Asia where Starlink will operate. Starlink was launched at three Indonesian health centres on Sunday.
Philippines replaces military commander overseeing South China Sea forces
Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres Jnr will replace Vice-Admiral Alberto Carlos as chief of the Western Command on Palawan island.
South China Sea: Marcos says Philippines will ‘vigorously defend what is ours’ as maritime row heats up
The Philippine president told military graduates Manila faced ‘a blatant disregard of internationally accepted principles’.
Macron’s response in French territory of New Caledonia risks helping China, analysts say
French President Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions to deepen French influence in the Pacific, where China is expanding its security ties, could be put at risk by the heavy-handed response to civil unrest in New Caledonia
Will Philippines’ Marcos Jnr form social media regulatory board for ‘anti-government propaganda’ clampdown?
A civil society group is urging Marcos Jnr to start a social media regulatory board but analysts fear the move could be targeted at silencing critics.
Singapore PM Lawrence Wong’s ancestral ties spark Chinese social media interest: ‘the pride of Hainan’
Observers note the bump in online interest reflects blurred boundaries between Chinese nationality and ethnicity.
Thai cannabis groups urge rethink of plan to re-criminalise marijuana: ‘don’t bring the people’s plant into the system’
Dozens of Thai cannabis advocates urged the government to abandon its plans to re-list marijuana as a narcotic, a week after it announced its dramatic policy U-turn just two years after de-criminalising it.
Singapore’s new PM Lawrence Wong vows to ‘never settle for status quo’ in inaugural speech as country’s leader
Former government economist, 51, takes the reins from Lee Hsien Loong, scion of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Will climate change push Thailand to move its capital Bangkok?
A senior official in Thailand’s climate change office thinks a move could be possible, with much of the capital already battling floods during the rainy season.