South Korean stocks plunge nearly 4% following US trade deal
LISA KIM and JADA NAGUMO
TOKYO -- South Korean stocks slid on Friday due to investor concerns about the downsides of the country's trade deal with the U.S. and disappointment over a domestic tax reform plan.
The benchmark KOSPI was at one point down 3.7%, hitting its lowest intra-day level since early July and extending losses from the previous day. Big tech names tumbled, led by SK Hynix's 5% drop. Samsung Electronics and LG Energy Solution were also trading lower.
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The Diplomat
4 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Why Cambodia Is Losing the Information War With Thailand
The lack of an independent press has made it hard for the government to communicate its side of the story. In the latest conflict along the Cambodia-Thailand border, nationalism has once again spilled into cyberspace. In Cambodia, social media personalities have mobilized to challenge what they see as a global narrative tilted in Thailand's favor, arguing that international media portray Bangkok more sympathetically simply because it is more powerful, better connected, or more geopolitically popular. 'Just because Thailand is bigger and has more media coverage, Cambodia is a villain now?' asked beauty and lifestyle influencer SreyNea Nea. Pop singer and songwriter Sinora Roath echoed the sentiment in a viral video, in which she said, 'Thailand is invading Cambodia because they want more of our temples. Why are you so greedy, Thailand? Your country is bigger than us, you're way more populated, your food is all over the world, you are one of the most visited countries in Southeast Asia, and you still want more? From a country like us? Your media coverage is so big that when you told the world that we're the one invading, the world believed you.' Content creator Chris Dyna added, 'As a small country, it is very difficult for our voices to be heard. Many news outlets are only reporting from or within Thailand, with some news outlets reporting using Thai nationals, showing clear bias in their reports.' From memes to commentary, the dominant tone online is one of frustration with the focus of the international press. But the skew in global perception stems from a fact closer to home: namely, that Cambodia doesn't have a free press. Despite its history of frequent military coups, Thailand is still considered a 'flawed democracy' by the Economist Intelligence Unit and is rated 'partly free' by Freedom House. The country holds regular elections, supports an active civil society, and maintains a relatively diverse media environment, even though all of these operate under notable constraints. The press contends with self-censorship and strict legal limits, especially those imposed by the lese-majeste law, yet critical reporting persists, particularly in English-language and online outlets. For example, Bangkok, unlike Phnom Penh, hosts regional bureaus or correspondents for major international outlets like Reuters, the BBC, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, NBC, and others, many of which are associated with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) in central Bangkok. In Cambodia, by contrast, none of this is true. Despite still holding periodic elections, the country is now widely regarded as an authoritarian one-party state under the control of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Over the past decade, the government has systematically dismantled the independent media, culminating in the 2023 shutdown of Voice of Democracy (VOD), one of the last major newsrooms willing to challenge official narratives. Radio Free Asia (RFA) shuttered its Phnom Penh bureau back in 2017, citing 'unprecedented' levels of government intimidation. That same year, authorities closed more than two dozen local radio stations — many of which rebroadcast RFA programs –effectively silencing critical voices on the airwaves. The English-language Cambodia Daily, a longtime pillar of investigative reporting, was also forced to shut down after being hit with a sudden, crippling tax bill. The following year, the Phnom Penh Post was sold under pressure to government-friendly investors. By the time of the 2018 election, when the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly, the country's independent press had been all but extinguished. Journalists who persist in exposing uncomfortable truths – especially around land seizures, corruption, or political abuses – often face surveillance, harassment, exile, or imprisonment. Take the case of Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, two former RFA reporters arrested and charged with providing information to a foreign state, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 15 years. Then there is the case of Mech Dara, a Cambodian investigative journalist known for uncovering online scams and government corruption. In September 2024, he was charged with incitement to commit a felony or cause social disorder over posts he made online. In January, Gerald Flynn, a British environmental reporter with Mongabay, learnt that he had been blacklisted and denied re-entry to Cambodia, apparently in retaliation for his reporting on environmental crimes tied to powerful elites. So if one wonders why there is so little reporting from inside Cambodia during this war with Thailand – why no major outlet seems to be covering our side of the story – this is why. As a Cambodian, I have watched my fellow countrymen grow used to the idea that speech is dangerous, and that certain things simply are not said in public. For years, no one I knew seemed particularly concerned about press freedom. But now, suddenly, there is a nationwide outrage over 'misinformation' and 'foreign media bias,' all because of a perception that the narrative is coming out of Bangkok instead of Phnom Penh. But Cambodia will not win the PR war in the information age by handing influencers identical scripts, without third-party verification or independent journalism. We cannot ask the world to hear us while our government silences every voice that dares to speak independently. As such, this war should be a wake-up call for Cambodian leaders, alerting them to the truth-telling functions of an independent press. By silencing these voices, the Cambodian government has forfeited the credibility needed for others to believe its version of events.
Nikkei Asia
5 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
India's Modi plans first China visit in 7 years, as tensions with US rise
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Aug. 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the U.S. faces its most serious crisis in years after President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. Modi's visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply after a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia in October that led to a thaw. The giant Asian neighbors are now slowly defusing tensions that have hampered business relations and travel between the two countries. Trump has threatened to charge an additional 10% tariff on imports from members -- which include India -- of the BRICS group of major emerging economies for "aligning themselves with anti-American policies." Trump said on Wednesday his administration would decide on the penalty for buying Russian oil after the outcome of U.S. efforts to seek a last-minute breakthrough that would bring about a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Trump's top diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Moscow, two days before the expiry of a deadline the president set for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Meanwhile, Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval is in Russia on a scheduled visit and is expected to discuss India's purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Trump's pressure on India to stop buying Russian crude, according to another government source, who also did not want to be named. Doval is likely to address India's defense cooperation with Russia, including obtaining faster access to pending exports to India of Moscow's S400 air defense system, and a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to India. Doval's trip will be followed by External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the weeks to come. U.S. and Indian officials told Reuters a mix of political misjudgment, missed signals and bitterness scuttled trade deal negotiations between the world's biggest and fifth-largest economies, whose bilateral trade is worth over $190 billion. India expects Trump's crackdown could cost it a competitive advantage in about $64 billion worth of goods sent to the U.S. that account for 80% of its total exports, four separate sources told Reuters, citing an internal government assessment. However, the relatively low share of exports in India's $4 trillion economy is expected to limit the direct impact on economic growth. On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India left its GDP growth forecast for the current April-March financial year unchanged at 6.5% and held rates steady despite the tariff uncertainties. India's government assessment report has assumed a 10% penalty for buying Russian oil, which would take the total U.S. tariff to 35%, the sources said. India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The internal assessment report is the government's initial estimate and will change as the quantum of tariffs imposed by Trump becomes clear, all four sources said. India exported goods estimated at $81 billion in 2024 to the U.S.
Nikkei Asia
6 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
US pursues record restrictions on Chinese purchases of American land
The U.S. is cracking down on Chinese ownership of farmland, a move critics say will exacerbate Asian discrimination. © Reuters PAK YIU NEW YORK -- The U.S. is intensifying its crackdown on Chinese ownership of American land in the name of national security, an initiative that critics say will exacerbate discrimination against Asians and further stymie Chinese investment.
