Pyongyang’s recent flurry of missile tests have sent shockwaves throughout the world. The recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test is said to be able to reach the continental United States.The response of the international community has been a mix of shock and disdain towards the hermit kingdom.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) encompasses 25 percent global GDP, 45 percent of the total population, 30 percent of global income and 30 percent global trade. Led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is one of the most useful strategic opportunities for the 16 countries – ASEAN-10, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – to realise an economically open and liberal Asia Pacific.The potential that RCEP has is immense.

A bid to make all sex outside marriage illegal was thrown out by an Indonesian court Thursday, as concerns grow over rising intolerance in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country.Five out of nine judges on the Constitutional Court in the capital Jakarta narrowly rejected the push to criminalise extramarital relations.The unsuccessful petition would have affected unmarried heterosexuals and gay people, who cannot marry in Indonesia – several months after the arrests of a group of men

According to a recent report, Vietnam seems to have a bright future for gender diversity in the Southeast Asia region as there is a higher illustration of women serving as board of directors and chief executive officers in comparison to Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reported that some 25 percent of CEOs on board of directors in Vietnam are women. Currently, women hold 14 percent of CEO or board level positions in Malaysia and 10 percent in Singapore.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won martial law powers across the southern third of the country for one more year on Wednesday to combat Islamic militants and leftist rebels, as Congress brushed aside fears of a looming dictatorship.Duterte's request to extend martial law in the Mindanao region until December 31 next year and detain rebellion suspects there without charge was approved by 240 votes to 27 at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.Asked by reporters

South Korean President Moon Jae-In will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, seeking to repair a relationship strained over Seoul hosting a US missile system.Moon's office has said he hopes to "normalise" ties during the visit, after Beijing was angered by the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), installed earlier this year to protect South Korea against threats from the nuclear-armed North.Beijing, which sees the system as

Singapore is increasingly using harsh laws to severely restrict freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, urging authorities to let people publicly debate matters of national interest.A report from the New York-based rights group said that while the financial hub was an economic success, it was time to relax tough regulations which are not in line with international human rights standards."Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation and a good place to do busine

A senior UN official returning from Pyongyang said Tuesday that North Korean officials had told him it was important to prevent war but offered no concrete proposal for talks."They agreed that it was important to prevent war," Jeffrey Feltman, the UN's political affairs chief, told reporters after briefing the Security Council on his trip.Feltman met with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-Kuk during his visit to Pyongyang over th

The balance of power in East Asia relies heavily on the power competition between the United States and China.

In conjunction with Human Rights Day 2017, the ASEAN Parliamentarian for Human Rights (APHR) committee constituting of lawmakers from across the Southeast Asian region have reiterated that “2017 has been a challenging year for human rights advocates in Southeast Asia.”Taking the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and the bloodshed in Philippines’ war on drugs and the crackdown on press freedoms across the region as prime examples of human right catastrophes which are still yet to be resolved, makes i