In a peaceful settlement of international territorial and maritime disputes between states, parties involved have a lot of options including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means depending on the dispute. In the case of the Philippine’s claims to North Borneo or Sabah, based on the Manila Accord of 31 July 1963, entered into by the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaya – the Philippines has the right to pursue its claim a

A Malaysian company that is the world's biggest manufacturer of surgical gloves will close over half of its factories after a surge in coronavirus cases among workers, authorities said Monday.Top Glove has seen a huge jump in demand since the start of the pandemic as countries scrambled to stock up on protective equipment, pushing up both its profits and share price. But there has been a cluster of virus outbreaks among Top Glove employees - many of whom are low-paid migrant wor

With the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on 15 November, the stage is set for Malaysia to tap into the world’s largest free trade area (FTA) with 2.1 billion consumers, including China, and accounting for approximately 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Up next is the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – spanning the Asia-Pacific Rim countries and home to 95 million consumers as well as contributing a

United States (US) President Donald Trump took part Friday in an Asia-Pacific summit as he pushes on with challenges to his election loss, a day after Xi Jinping used the forum to hail China's growing economic clout.The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering, held online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, brings together 21 Pacific Rim countries, accounting for about 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).Beijing has become the main driving force behind th

In December 2018, the European Union (EU) revised the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) also called RED II which bans the use of palm oil.

Hundreds of passengers were setting sail from Singapore Friday on a "cruise to nowhere" with safety measures in place to prevent coronavirus outbreaks, as the industry seeks to bounce back from a pandemic-induced crunch.Cruises were halted worldwide in March after travel restrictions kicked in and several vessels were hit by major outbreaks, but have now resumed in a few places.The "cruise to nowhere" – starting and ending at the same place, with no stops – has proved a hi

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad tweeted Thursday that Muslims had a right "to kill millions of French people" after a deadly attack in Nice, sparking widespread anger and prompting Twitter to delete his post.Three people were killed at a church in the southern French city, with the attacker slitting the throat of at least one, in what authorities were treating as the latest jihadist assault to rock the country.Shortly afterwards, Mahathir - the prime minister of Muslim-maj

Malaysia's king Sunday rejected a proposal by the premier to declare a state of emergency and suspend parliament to fight the coronavirus after the plan sparked a massive backlash.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin sought the drastic measures following a recent spike in virus cases, but critics claimed he was mainly concerned with crushing mounting challenges to his leadership. Muhyiddin seized power without a vote in March after a reformist government collapsed but his administrat

Matters related to territorial disputes both land and maritime, particularly in the case of Southeast Asia (SEA), are among the most contentious issues in the region’s politics nowadays.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had a long-awaited meeting with the king Tuesday, seeking to prove he has support to take power and fulfil a decades-old ambition of becoming premier.The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since a reformist government headed by Mahathir Mohamad - which included Anwar - collapsed in February amid bitter infighting.Muhyiddin Yassin became premier without an election, but his coalition's support is shaky and critics accuse it of lacking legi