Indonesia – Long earlier than Australia`s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made his first bilateral go to Jakarta, Indonesia`s accept as true with in Australia turned into already slipping. According to Lowy Institute`s first ballot  on Indonesia in a decade, Indonesians` accept as true with in Australia had slipped 20 factors in 10 years — from 75% in 2011 to …

ASEAN – Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom stated today that their 51-year-old Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) treaty was robust, current, and critical to managing increasing regional tensions. Following their discussion on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue, the officials told a press conference that the member states’ relationship was friendly, and that they were focused …

North Korea – North Korea may have launched a ballistic missile, according to Japan’s coast guard, in the first test since the nuclear-armed nation set a new record for launches in January. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea also said that North Korea had shot at least one “unidentified missile” eastward, without providing any other details. The launch …

Singapore – Furious critics in Singapore said that a video posted by the New York Times showing a Taiwan-based writer preparing a “Singaporean chicken curry” looked more like sewage than a traditional local meal, prompting the publication to remove the video. It is common for Singaporeans to be quite proud of their culinary traditions, which are a fusion of influences …

Afghanistan – Two staff members stated that the Taliban’s religious police had threatened to kill women NGO employees in a northern district of Afghanistan if they did not wear the all-covering burqa. Since the Taliban retook control in August after deposing the US-backed government, Afghans‘ rights, particularly those of women and children, have been significantly restricted. Women are being pushed …

Cambodia – According to their organization, an anti-tank mine left over from Cambodia’s civil war burst on Monday, killing three members of a local demining crew while they worked. In a Facebook post from Cambodia Self Help Demining, the team of professionals had been reacting to a warning in the northern province of Preah Vihear. In the 1990s, the region …

Philippines – The Philippines’ defense chief announced today that a military resupply mission for the country’s troops stationed on an atoll in the South China Sea will begin this week, after it was halted last week due to a Chinese coast guard blockade. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana stated that he has directed the military to return its resupply vessels to …

Philippines – On Thursday, US prosecutors revealed sex-trafficking charges against the head of a Philippines-based church, who is a companion and adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC), and other church officials, including two US-based church executives, are accused of running a sex-trafficking activities …

Unlike several of its neighbors, the Philippines supports a new US-UK-Australia military alliance aimed at maintaining the Indo-Pacific balance of power. The AUKUS alliance, which would see Australia get technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines as part of a deal designed to counter the rise of Chinese dominance, will be known by the acronym. In a statement on Tuesday, Philippines Foreign …

Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister called for the World Bank to speak out regarding the unequal distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in global terms as there have been occurrence of hoarding among the richer economies which in turn, makes the existing economic gap even wider. Khairy brought up this mounting concern during the launch of …