East Asia’s record heat, Singapore F1 tycoon admits guilt: 7 Asia highlights
From Malaysia’s Anwar lauded for peace efforts to a potential India-China thaw, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting
We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. All-out thaw: can India and China unfreeze icy ties at last?
When Indian pilgrims set foot in Tibet again this summer, their arrival heralded a new beginning for India and China, five years after a deadly Himalayan clash plunged the two bitter rivals into a diplomatic deep freeze.
2. F1 tycoon Ong Beng Seng admits guilt in Singapore minister gifts scandal
Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based billionaire hotelier and architect of the city state’s Formula One Grand Prix, pleaded guilty on Monday to abetting former transport minister S. Iswaran in a gifting scandal.
3. Sleepless in Seoul, scorching in Tokyo: East Asia roasts under record heat
East Asia is experiencing scorching weather, with Japan logging a new high of 41.2 degrees Celsius while South Korea marked a record streak of 22 hot “tropical nights” with temperatures exceeding 25 degrees.
4. ‘Shrimp among whales’: South Korea faces stark choices amid US-China rivalry
The Korean peninsula has once again become a fulcrum of global anxiety, as South Korea grapples with intensifying pressure from its US ally to take sides in Washington’s deepening rivalry with China, all while North Korea rattles its sabres on Seoul’s doorstep.
5. Unearthing potential: US eyes Philippine rare earths as China tightens grip
When US officials met their Philippine counterparts in Kuala Lumpur this month to discuss critical minerals, few outside industry circles realised the quiet significance of the conversation: a new front in the global contest over resources essential to modern technology and national security.
6. Why Indonesians behaving badly in Japan fuels official concerns
A string of controversial incidents involving Indonesian nationals in Japan has fuelled talk of a looming ban on workers from the Southeast Asian nation, prompting officials in Jakarta to dismiss the speculation.
7. Nobel Peace Prize for Malaysia’s Anwar? Not if Trump gets his way
Supporters of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are calling for him to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, days after he brokered a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, for which US President Donald Trump has also taken the lion’s share of credit.
