How a US$7 billion warship deal is reshaping Japan-Australia defence ties Japan and Australia’s landmark A$10 billion (US$6.5 billion) deal for next-generation warships not only promises to reshape the Indo-Pacific’s security order, analysts say, but also revive Tokyo’s once-moribund defence industry. Under the deal, announced earlier his month, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will produce Mogami-class 11 stealth frigates for the Royal Australian Navy to replace its ageing Anzac-class vessels with a larger, faster and more lethal fleet. The Mogami-class is a... image
South China Morning Post
How a US$7 billion warship deal is reshaping Japan-Australia defence ties
Analysts say the warships deal will create ‘long-term coordination’ between the two navies amid mutual concerns over China’s rise.
China ‘life loser’ changes life in 1,000 days with hard training, gains online fame A self-described “life loser” from eastern China has turned his situation around by following a superhero workout from a Japanese manga for 1,000 days. Li Shuangyong, from Shandong province, who is known online as Tangzhu, has attracted more than one million followers on mainland social media. According to Jiupai News, Li was born into a rural family. At 36, his fish farming business collapsed, leaving him in debt and ending his marriage. He called himself a “life loser” and said he spent his... image
South China Morning Post
China ‘life loser’ changes life in 1,000 days with hard training, gains online fame
Washed-up, failed fish farmer takes inspiration from Japanese manga superhero, transforms body and mind via gruelling fitness regime.
Chinese military ‘warns off’ US destroyer from vicinity of Scarborough Shoal A US destroyer has entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, less than two days after an apparent collision involving a Chinese coastguard vessel and a PLA Navy ship while the former was pursuing a Philippine coastguard vessel in the area. The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command said on Wednesday that the USS Higgins destroyer, type DDG-76, had “illegally entered China’s territorial waters around Huangyan Island without the approval of the Chinese government”. The PLA... image
South China Morning Post
Chinese military ‘warns off’ US destroyer from vicinity of Scarborough Shoal
PLA Southern Theatre Command says USS Higgins was warned to leave the area where two Chinese ships reportedly collided this week.
Hong Kong authorities will ‘act first’ to prevent chikungunya fever: minister Hong Kong’s hygiene officers will adopt an “act first” approach by clearing stagnant water in unattended private places to tackle the threat of chikungunya fever, the city’s environment minister has said. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Wednesday pledged to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, even in places where responsibility for maintenance was unclear. “This is a critical time for disease prevention. I believe the public is most concerned about private alleyways where... image
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities will ‘act first’ to prevent chikungunya fever: minister
Environment chief says hygiene officers will take action to clear stagnant water, even in places where responsibility for maintenance is unclear.
Malaysia’s Najib gets legal lifeline in house arrest bid over 1MDB sentence Malaysia’s highest court on Wednesday threw disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak a lifeline in his bid to trade prison for house arrest for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal. The Federal Court dismissed a government bid to block Najib from seeking access to a purported royal order that he claims would permit him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence at home rather than in Kajang prison, where he has been held since August 2022. Najib, 72, was convicted in 2020 of criminal... image
South China Morning Post
Malaysia’s Najib gets legal lifeline in house arrest bid over 1MDB sentence
The ruling has revived the ex-PM’s controversial claim that an ‘addendum’ from the former king would let him serve his sentence at home.
How a diamond pendant brought down South Korea’s Kim Keon-hee A diamond pendant worth tens of thousands of dollars, once worn by former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee on an official trip, has become the unlikely catalyst for her fall from grace. The luxury item, and its meticulously crafted fake, are now at the centre of a criminal case that saw Kim detained late on Tuesday pending trial, accused of deception, obstruction and a decade-long pattern of alleged wrongdoing. Investigators say Kim lied about the pendant’s origin, staged a cover-up and... image
South China Morning Post
How a diamond pendant brought down South Korea’s Kim Keon-hee
The downfall of South Korea’s former first lady hinged on a complex cover-up over a diamond-studded necklace worn to a Nato summit in 2022.
Foreign firms ‘created 25% of emissions’ from companies in China over 20 years Carbon emissions generated by foreign firms accounted for about a quarter of the total from all companies in China in the two decades from 1997, according to a new study. It also found that foreign companies produced more than half of their total carbon emissions in China’s less-developed inland areas in the 15 years up to 2012. Yet these regions were not seeing as much economic benefit from foreign investment as the coastal areas. “The eastern coastal region gained more economic benefits, while... image
South China Morning Post
Foreign firms ‘created 25% of emissions’ from companies in China over 20 years
Eastern coastal region had more economic gain while central and western inland areas ‘bore heavier environmental pressures’, researchers say.
Taiwan unveils ‘carrier killer’ plans in bid to deter mainland Chinese forces Taiwan is developing a next-generation anti-ship missile in a move that defence analysts have described as potentially a major boost to the island’s ability to deter mainland China’s expanding naval power. In a list issued under the Defence Industry Development Act, Taiwan’s defence ministry announced a new weapon described as a “long-range subsonic anti-ship cruise missile”. The list said the island’s military would spend NT$40 million (US$1.4 million) next year and the year after that to buy... image
South China Morning Post
Taiwan unveils ‘carrier killer’ plans in bid to deter mainland Chinese forces
The island’s defence ministry has announced efforts to develop a long-range, subsonic missile to boost its naval defences.
Thailand-Cambodia ‘deep mistrust’ tests Asean’s peacekeeping role The deployment of Asean observers along the Cambodia-Thailand border can help ensure peace, but deep mistrust between both sides may limit the regional bloc’s role as gatekeeper amid a shaky truce. Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to allow observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to be stationed on either side of the divide and help monitor a tenuous ceasefire after a deadly five-day border conflict last month. The August 7 agreement was forged under a General Border... image
South China Morning Post
Thailand-Cambodia ‘deep mistrust’ tests Asean’s peacekeeping role
Asean observers may ease tensions for now, but a lasting peace on the Thai-Cambodian border requires sustained engagement, analysts say.
Taiwan’s chipmakers fear costly choice: Trump’s tariffs or US factories Taiwan’s export-reliant economy is under mounting pressure following US President Donald Trump’s declaration that Washington would impose a 100 per cent tariff on imported semiconductors – unless companies establish operations in the United States. The latest blow came as a 20 per cent US tariff on Taiwanese goods took effect on Thursday, affecting a wide range of industries including machine tools, plastic goods, and agricultural exports such as orchids and seafood. The dual tariff threats have... image
South China Morning Post
Taiwan’s chipmakers fear costly choice: Trump’s tariffs or US factories
Taiwan’s economy is under pressure as Trump threatens 100 per cent tariffs on semiconductors – unless firms build in the US.