Latest news with #JunYuanYong
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asia boosts weapons buys, military research as security outlook darkens
By Greg Torode and Jun Yuan Yong HONG KONG (Reuters) -Spending on weapons and research is spiking among some Asian countries as they respond to a darkening security outlook by broadening their outside industrial partnerships while trying to boost their own defence industries, a new study has found. The annual Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment released on Wednesday by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said outside industrial help remains vital even as regional nations ultimately aim for self-reliance. "Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, coupled with worsening U.S.-China strategic competition and deterioration of the Asia-Pacific security landscape, may lead to a rising tide of defence-industrial partnerships," it read. "Competitive security dynamics over simmering flashpoints ... feed into the need to develop military capabilities to address them." Spending on defence procurement and research and development rose $2.7 billion between 2022 and 2024, it showed, to reach $10.5 billion among Southeast Asia's key nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The spike comes even as the nations spent an average of 1.5% of GDP on defence in 2024, a figure that has kept relatively constant over the last decade. The study, released ahead of this weekend's annual Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, said Asia-Pacific nations still rely on imports for most key weapons and equipment. Such items range from submarines and combat aircraft to drones, missiles and advanced electronics for surveillance and intelligence gathering. The informal Singapore gathering of global defence and military officials is expected to be dominated by uncertainties stemming from the protracted Ukraine conflict, Trump administration security policies and regional tension over Taiwan and the disputed busy waterway of the South China Sea. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are increasingly active and making inroads, the study said, though European companies have a prominent and expanding regional presence, via technology transfer, joint ventures and licenced assembly deals. The UAE now operates a diversified network of collaborators, such as China's NORINCO weapons giant and rival India's Hindustan Aeronautics. Joint development operations are not always easy, the study said, offering lessons from India's two-decade collaboration with Russia to produce the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile. While the feared weapon is fielded by India, exports have been hampered by lack of a clear strategy, with deliveries to its first third-party customer, the Philippines, starting only in 2024, the study added. Closer Russia-China ties could further complicate the weapon's development, particularly if Moscow chooses to prioritise ties with Beijing to develop a hypersonic version of the missile.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Singapore ministers, lawmaker under scrutiny over dinners attended by convicted money launderer
By Jun Yuan Yong SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Pictures of Singaporean ministers and a ruling party lawmaker together at dinners that included a man convicted in a high-profile $2.2 billion money laundering case have caused a stir in the city-state, where there has been increased public scrutiny of the government's clean image. The photos shared widely on social media showed Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and lawmaker and former Education Minister Ng Chee Meng at dinners with Cypriot national Su Haijin, who was jailed last year in one of the biggest cases of its kind in Singapore. It was unclear when the pictures were taken. The press secretaries of both ministers said in a joint statement they were invited to the dinners by a friend and Su "happened to be there". Su was one of 10 foreign nationals arrested in relation to the money laundering case in August 2023. "As ministers, they meet a diverse range of people at various events and gatherings. The ministers do not know Su personally and have had no contact or dealings with him, before or since these occasions," it said. Ng, who won a parliamentary seat in Saturday's general election after losing in the 2020 contest, said in a statement that as head of the country's main labour union he attended many events and had no further interactions with Su after learning of the legal proceedings against him. The wealthy city-state, an Asian financial hub that has been governed by the People's Action Party since independence six decades ago, prides itself on its reputation for clean governance. The party was returned in another landslide in elections on Saturday and, by tradition, its members dress in white during campaigning to symbolise purity and incorruptibility. The prime minister's office and the PAP did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the pictures. Online forum platform Reddit and social media posts by mainstream news outlets on Tuesday drew many comments from Singaporeans, some questioning how the ministers could have met Su and others calling for the graft agency to investigate whether there was a relationship between him and the officials. The PAP has faced increased public scrutiny in the past two years, including over former transport minister S. Iswaran who was jailed for improperly receiving $300,000 of gifts and obstructing justice, and the resignations of the house speaker and a lawmaker over an extramarital affair. Two ministers were also investigated and cleared of wrongdoing over their rental of exclusive state-owned properties, an issue that generated intrigue on social media. (Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by Martin Petty and Kate Mayberry)
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New faces for ruling party as Singapore finalises election lineup
By Jun Yuan Yong and Bing Hong Lok SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore on Wednesday finalised contestants for its May 3 general election, with the ruling People's Action Party fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest-ever refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to "bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy" to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shakeup beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong and Goh Chok Tong, who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively in their first elections as premier. The ballot is the first big test for 52-year-old Wong and his party's share of the popular vote will be closely watched after one of its worst performances in the 2020 contest. The election also comes as Singapore faces uncertainty in its trade-reliant economy and the possibility of recession and job losses caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, even though the wealthy city-state will be subject to only a 10% levy, compared to much steeper tariffs imposed on its neighbours. Last week, Singapore downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 0% to 2% from the previous 1% to 3% range. OLD GUARD EXIT The ruling PAP will be boosted by a walkover in a contest with five seats, with opposition parties fielding candidates for only 92 of the 97 available parliamentary spots in a surprise pull-out by the Workers' Party in one constituency. In a departure from previous elections, the PAP and its main opposition played their cards close to their chests, revealing candidates in key races only late on, among them trade minister and deputy premier Gan Kim Yong, who changed constituency at the 11th hour. PAP politicians who stepped down include old guard heavyweights Ng Eng Hen, Singapore's longest-serving defence minister and senior minister Teo Chee Hean, a deputy prime minister under Lee, who was in power two decades. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who was once tipped for the premiership, also made way. The Workers' Party, which has a long-term goal of winning a third of seats, is fielding just 26 candidates. Though it alone poses no significant threat to the PAP's rule, it has steadily gained ground in the past few elections, with an unprecedented six seats in 2011 and 2015, and 10 in 2020. Chief among election issues for the 2.76 million registered voters will be living costs and the fallout of trade tensions. In February, Wong delivered what analysts called "a full-blown election budget" with a raft of giveaways, including food vouchers, tax rebates and cash handouts. In a swipe at his opponents on Tuesday, Wong warned Singaporeans they will hear "many tempting proposals" ahead of the election that might not be sound. "If they weaken our public finances, the burden will fall on our children. If we mismanage the economy, investors will lose confidence and our incomes will suffer," he said in a social media post.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Singapore detains two teenagers, one over plan to shoot mosques, other planned to join Islamic State
By Jun Yuan Yong SINGAPORE - Singapore used an internal security law against two teenagers separately, one over plans to attack mosques and the other for wanting to fight in Syria alongside Islamic State militants, authorities said on Wednesday. The 17-year-old male was detained and subscribed to far-right extremist ideology, seeing himself as an "East Asian supremacist," authorities said. He wanted to shoot mosques and had unsuccessfully tried to buy guns, including from the United States, Malaysia and Thailand, the internal security department said. The teenager wanted to "maximise casualties" and kill at least 100 Muslims, to outdo the 2019 Christchurch attack in which a gunman killed 51 worshippers in a mosque, it said. Detained in March under the island's Internal Security Act, he could be held for up to two years without trial. He was identified following an investigation into an 18-year-old detained in December over similar far-right extremism, authorities said. Authorities said they were concerned about youth radicalisation in Singapore, and have used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20 and under since 2015. That law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and internet access, among other conditions. Of the 17 detained in the past ten years, nine planned to carry out attacks in multi-racial Singapore, where 74% of residents are Chinese, 13.6% Malay, 9% Indian, and 3.3% is classified as other, according to population statistics. The second detained youth was a 15-year-old female who wanted to marry an Islamic State fighter and raise a pro-IS family or fight for the extremist group in Syria, said the internal security department. She was issued with a restriction order in February. "Self-radicalisation can happen very quickly. In the case of the 15-year-old, it only took weeks. It is thus critical that the public be vigilant to signs that someone around us may have become radicalised," said the internal security department.
