Category: Southeast Asia

By Derek Grossman U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Malaysia in October for the annual ASEAN summit, along with his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s engagements throughout the region, offers fresh evidence of how the administration is faring on its Southeast ...

As demand for electric vehicles surges, Indonesia, the world’s largest source of battery-grade nickel, has become a focal point of global concern. Rapid and often exploitative mining projects, many driven by Chinese investment, have strained local communities and ecosystems. Now, Indonesia decided to restrict new nickel-smelter investments. ...

Indonesian authorities said on Tuesday they had detained a Chinese real estate executive wanted over the default of a $138 million corporate loan. The 58-year-old man, identified only as WZ, was arrested on Indonesia's western island of Batam on Thursday after ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised closer ties with Thailand on Friday during talks with the first reigning Thai monarch to visit the country since diplomatic ties were established 50 years ago. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who has rarely made overseas state visits ...

An alleged Chinese racketeer linked to a hugely lucrative scam hub in Myanmar was extradited from Thailand to China on Wednesday, a police official in Bangkok told AFP. She Zhijiang had been in Thai custody since 2022 after spending more than ...

A tycoon linked to illegal scam hub operations on the Thai-Myanmar border will be extradited to face criminal charges in China, a court in Bangkok ordered on Monday. Chinese businessman She Zhijiang, 43, has been in detention in Thailand since 2022, ...

Chinese e-commerce companies are solidifying their dominance of Southeast Asia's rapidly expanding online shopping market, accounting for as much as half of business-to-consumer e-commerce, according to a new study by the consulting firm Bain. While Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines ...

China sentenced five people to death on Tuesday for their involvement in a violent criminal gang with fraud operations in Myanmar's Kokang region along the border, state media reported. Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners -- ...

One of Myanmar's most powerful ethnic armed opposition factions has agreed to a China-brokered withdrawal from a lucrative ruby mining hub, the group said on Wednesday. Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military grabbed power in a ...

China sits at the heart of Indonesia’s energy paradox — driving the country’s ambitious shift toward renewables while remaining deeply entrenched in its coal economy. Chinese financing and technology are accelerating Indonesia’s clean energy buildout, from nickel refining to electric vehicles ...

Myanmar's ruling junta said Saturday that it had recaptured a town on a trade highway to China from an ethnic armed group in the country's war-wracked north. Following a 16-day operation, "on 16 October, Tatmadaw reoccupied Hsipaw completely," the state-run Global ...

Indonesia confirmed the purchase of 42 Chinese-made J-10C “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets, ending months of speculation about the deal. “They will be flying over Jakarta soon,” Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters, announcing the agreement reached ...