appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

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. Singapore balances national interest with rising anti-US sentiment
In a rare public protest in Singapore, hundreds gathered in Hong Lim Park over the weekend to denounce the “US war machine”. They brandished placards and banners, including one with horns drawn on US presidents past and present captioned: “This is what terrorists look like.”
2. Why Southeast Asian nations are skipping major US-Philippine Balikatan drills
Balikatan, the flagship annual military exercise between Manila and Washington, begins in the Philippines this month without a single neighbouring Southeast Asian member taking part, despite the drills’ growing scale and multinational reach.
3. 7 French tourists arrested after viral Songkran clash with van driver in Phuket

Thai police arrested seven French tourists after a viral Songkran confrontation in Phuket in which revellers surrounded a van, sprayed its driver with water and later ignored police orders to disperse
4. How India’s nuclear breakthrough could end reliance on energy imports

A breakthrough in India’s nuclear power research has been hailed as a defining moment for the country’s energy programme and a step towards self-reliance.
5. Malaysia’s Anwar douses row over diesel supplied to Philippines
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for an end to allegations of diesel being supplied to the Philippines, stating that the claim is untrue.
6. Crowned in Bangkok, constrained at home: Malaysia’s first Mr Bear winner

On Monday afternoon, amid the heat and chaos of Thailand’s Songkran festival, Gavin Chow was crowned Mr Bear International 2026 – the first Malaysian to win the title at a pageant that has quickly become part of Thailand’s growing queer festival circuit.
7. South Korea’s former first couple endure a frosty courtroom reunion

For the first time in nine months, former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol finally saw his wife again on Tuesday. He was the defendant. She was the witness. She barely looked at him.


Chinese brands eye Europe; Geely joins Chery and BYD in profit slide: 7 EV reads

Philippine pageant debate, Chinese stealth jets in Pakistan: 7 Asia highlights

Xi’s leverage ahead of Trump meet, Hong Kong schools: 5 weekend reads you missed

Shanghai’s changing expats, Hong Kong trail sign fallout: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

Singapore’s US-interest balancing act, viral Songkran clash: 7 Asia highlights

Fishermen pull their boats to the shore near the Kalpakkam atomic power station in Tamil Nadu. Photo: AP

A banner at a protest in Singapore’s Hong Lim Park on Saturday shows past and present US presidents with horns on their heads. Photo: Instagram/sgacadboycott

Screenshots from a viral video showing Songkran festival revelers spraying a van driver in Patong. Photo: TikTok / littlepatong

Gavin Chow (centre) after being named the winner of the Mr Bear International competition in Bangkok on Monday. Photo: Facebook / Mr Bear International

A combination photo shows South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol (left) exiting court in January and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon-hee, arriving at the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul in August last year. Photos: EPA/AFP

China’s 3-satellite surveillance network, Hong Kong’s inflation surge: SCMP’s 7 highlights

A rendering of the Ludi Tance 4-01, the world’s first geosynchronous orbit synthetic aperture radar satellite. Photo: Handout

Customers buy food at a shop in Sham Shui Po. Photo: May Tse

A C919 model on display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre, in February. Photo: Reuters

German-Chinese rugby player Sofie Fella, who competes for the German national team, wants women to understand that they can be physically strong if they want to be, and that they are allowed to “take up space”. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A 32-year-old Chinese man sought medical attention for stomach pain and was astonished to learn that a thermometer he had swallowed when he was 12 years old had remained inside him for 20 years. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

Asian-American family of ‘hot’ dentists; Hainan chicken rice roots: 7 Lifestyle highlights

The Chen family (from left): Aleq, Audree, Jennifer, Leon, Nina, Nasdaq and Niq. All seven members of the family are dentists. Photo: Niq Chen

Hainanese chicken rice at a restaurant in Hong Kong. Photo: Warton Li

Joey Yung performs in the JVC Awards Presentation ceremony by Metro Broadcast at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai in 1999. Photo: David Wong

Award-winning chef Keya Wingfield overate to numb her grief after the death of her newborn son in 2021, reaching a weight of 102kg by 2023. She shed 40kg by 2025. Photos: Instagram/keyaandco, courtesy of Keya Wingfield

An early line-up of toast creations by Cantoast, a bakery in London blending traditional Cantonese flavours with modern flair. Photo: Instagram/haydoncantoast

Singapore’s Hormuz stance, Manila-Hong Kong housing gap: 7 Asia highlights

Oil tankers anchor off Muscat, Oman, on March 7. Photo: Reuters


Children walk through a flooded area in Baseco, one of the biggest slums in Manila, the Philippines. Photo: AFP

People gather for cherry blossom viewing, also known as “hanami”, at Kinshi Park in Tokyo on March 30. Photo: AFP

Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 fighter jets fly past during a multinational naval exercise near Karachi in February 2025. Photo: AFP

Singapore ministers Tan See Leng (left) and K. Shanmugam are suing Bloomberg for defamation. Photo: Facebook/Handout

News

Asia

From Southeast Asian nations skipping Balikatan drills to India’s nuclear breakthrough, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting


From Southeast Asian nations skipping Balikatan drills to India’s nuclear breakthrough, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.


Singapore’s US-interest balancing act, viral Songkran clash: 7 Asia highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Southeast Asian nations skipping Balikatan drills to India’s nuclear breakthrough, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting

1. Singapore balances national interest with rising anti-US sentiment

From Southeast Asian nations skipping Balikatan drills to India’s nuclear breakthrough, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting