The start of this year's annual joint US-Philippines military exercises on Monday coincided with Manila's acquisition of several new missile systems - and a proposal from Washington to send an additional US$2.5 billion in military aid to the Southeas

A UK-based rights group has accused the British government of turning a blind eye and abetting Indonesia's use of counterterrorism laws to restrict civil liberties. "The UK government is actively collaborating with Indonesia on so-called counter-extr

Japan's coastguard has extended an initiative designed to help other nations' counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea to two Pacific island countries: the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The Mobile Cooperation Team (MCT) initiative was firs

Filipinos were more concerned about inflation and other economic issues such as poverty and unemployment, reflecting public expectations of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to fulfil his election manifesto even as he directed his focus on tensions in t

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo and his elder son are no longer members of the country's ruling party after they endorsed presidential election winner Prabowo Subianto over the PDI-P's candidate, according to a party official. Prabowo, who serves a

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte has countered first lady Liza Araneta Marcos' claims of "feeling hurt" by the former, saying such emotions were unrelated to her mandate as a government official. A feud between the women erupted last week after

With voting well under way in the world's longest election, Narendra Modi has stepped up his verbal attacks on India's Muslims - sparking criticism that he is once again turning to religion to rally support, amid claims that his ruling Bharatiya Jana

Early on Friday morning, Ankush Jha and his wife Radika headed to a polling booth about 1.6 miles (2.6km) from their home in the northwestern state of Rajasthan to vote in India's general election. The couple wanted to be among the first to cast thei

India has delivered its first batch of supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, marking a significant step forward for New Delhi's bid to counterbalance growing Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. The arms deal is seen by observers as part of

Even a pay cut to work in the civil service in his home state of Sarawak could not deter Robin Wong from leaving the peninsula to return to his roots, where renewed political and economic clout is now matched by a determination to resist the rise of

Malaysia's People's Justice Party (PKR), the political vehicle of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, has been forced to defend its much-vaunted reform agenda as momentum gathers behind ex-national leader Najib Razak's bid to serve the rest of his corrupti

Indonesia's top court on Monday rejected challenges to Prabowo Subianto's win in the February presidential election after the two losing candidates brought petitions alleging his victory was a result of widespread fraud and state interference. Prabow

The Philippines has sent intelligence officers to investigate potential national-security threats in the province of Cagayan following a controversial surge in Chinese nationals that lawmakers have warned could be spies. Jonathan Malaya, assistant di

Narendra Modi has an assortment of obstacles to surmount, ranging from stalled reforms to high business costs, before he can fulfil his election pledge of propelling India to developed economy status by 2047, economists say. His ruling Bharatiya Jana

A decision by a conservative-leaning newspaper in Japan to defy threats and push ahead with the translated publication of a book critical of gender-altering procedures for young people has stirred debate over their exposure to life-changing decisions

For Manish Tiwari, the elections under way in India are about the emergence of a nation that is forging ahead on the global stage with confidence under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the advertising executive is not even a

The windswept valley of Jomsom in the once-forbidden kingdom of Mustang is tucked between barren hills and the towering Himalayas in north-central Nepal. Once a transit point for traders to Tibet, the sleepy village has since turned into a rest stop

At a time when India is in the process of granting citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, about 350 Pakistani women in a remote border town of Indian-administered Kashmir are left stranded with no hopes of a future on eithe

Malaysia's People's Justice Party (PKR) is in a triumphant mood as it leads the way in a coalition government after more than two decades on the fringes, with its president Anwar Ibrahim secure in the prime minister's office. But as PKR marks the 25t

Commuters in Metro Manila who rely on light electric vehicles like e-bikes received a reprieve after President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr sought to delay a ban on the vehicles following public backlash. "We need more time for the widespread dissemination o

As reports of stabbings in Sydney's Bondi Junction started trickling in last Saturday, Bondi resident JJ Chen prayed for the victims but also found herself hoping that the perpetrator was not from a minority group. An Asian-Australian, Chen knows too

As a junior economist in the Singapore bureaucracy, Lawrence Wong had once contemplated quitting for the more lucrative private sector. "I had not yet found my calling in public service," Wong, who was then at the Ministry of Finance at the turn of t

A defence minister's courtesy calls take on a different significance, albeit only slightly, when he will take over as Indonesia's president in a matter of months. Even as president-elect Prabowo Subianto's opponents are still challenging his electora

Lawrence Wong's first foray into TikTok in June 2020 was a 51-second video of him in a white collared shirt wishing netizens a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, with barely legible font and no pop track in the background. For most Gen Zs, the clip broke mul

Next Monday, Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife Jinal, both 46, will give up their home and construction business, their fleet of luxury cars and everyone they have ever known, to start a new life walking the streets of India barefoot seeking alms. Their

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has dismissed the government's most recent amnesty proposal as "ridiculous", with observers saying there is little chance of ending the world's longest running insurgency unless its root causes are address

When Bhutan started forcibly expelling its ethnic Nepali population over three decades ago, Dil Kumar Rai, along with thousands of others, fled to neighbouring Nepal. But a secretive return to meet his relatives still in the kingdom landed him in pri

India will host the world's biggest general election on Friday, with nearly 1 billion people casting their ballots over the next six weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 73, and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, are the favourites to win a high-stak

Iran's attack on Israel last Saturday has heated up oil prices and kept markets on edge, a development that bodes ill for Asian businesses that depend on energy supplies and fuel-based raw materials. Oil prices see-sawed this week as 10-month-high US

As Indians head to the polls on Friday, New Delhi is closely keeping watch on the escalating Iran-Israel conflict, with tensions in the Middle East translating into energy, security and trade risks for the world's most populous nation. "India's stake