South East Asia

| VIETNAM

The measure levies penalties in social media starting 1 July, aimed at organisations, household businesses, and individuals. Fines are imposed for content that, among other things, deemed to cause panic, obstruct state agencies, and reveal state secrets. The latest crackdown on press freedom comes in the wake of similar action taken in late 2025, following Tô Lâm rise to power.


A new report highlights coordinated online campaigns against voices critical of the government, whether media outlets or NGOs, following Prabowo Subianto’s accession to the presidency. Accounts linked to the military have spread accusations of being “foreign agents”, with consequences including violence, whilst major social media platforms have refrained from intervening.

| 19/05/2026
| INDONESIA
by Mathias Hariyadi

The blast occurred in the courtyard of St Paul's Church, Intan Jaya Regency, shortly after Sunday Mass. The injured are all civilians from the local community. Indonesian authorities have not yet clarified the origin of the device, delivered by a drone, nor identified those responsible. Meanwhile, fighting between separatists and Indonesian forces intensifies.

| 18/05/2026
| INDONESIA

An incentive plan has been launched to encourage residents to move from densely populated areas to new developments connected to metro stations. Some of the targeted areas are currently undergoing redevelopment. The capital's new master plan envisions development along a multipolar and multicentric structure, with the Red River as the main ecological and cultural axis.

| 18/05/2026
| VIETNAM

Five days of dialogue in Thailand on the role of the family in the Catholic Churches of Asia: 52 delegates from 11 countries discussed pastoral challenges, synodality, the role of young people and interfaith dialogue. The Christian family is at the heart of the Church’s mission and the transmission of the faith. A roadmap inspired by the 2023 Bangkok Document has been approved.

| 18/05/2026
| ASIA
by Santosh Digal

The Catholic Bishops' Conference has called for a fair trial against the vice president, in compliance with the constitution, a necessary step “to restore our people’s faith and confidence in our public institutions”.  Meanwhile, dela Rosa, former President Duterte's ally and right-hand man in the war on drugs, fled the Senate after a standoff to avoid arrest.

| 15/05/2026
| PHILIPPINES

Cambodia rejects Thailand's unilateral decision to register border sites as national heritage. Over the years, the area has been the scene of armed clashes, the latest a few months ago, when a temple suffered damages. Phnom Penh slams Bangkok’s action as a violation of its territorial integrity without any validity under international law.

| 14/05/2026
| CAMBODIA – THAILAND
Editor's choices
 
The unexpected success of "Dear You”, a film produced on a small budget and in a local dialect, is reviving interest in China about the important role played by letter writing, which for over a century migrants used to send money and news to their ...
| 22/05/2026
| CHINA
 
by Andrea Ferrario
Data on the performance in the first quarter of 2026 confirm the difficulties of China’s southern coastal province, which was the laboratory of the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping but is now suffering from the downsizing of Hong Kong and the ...
| 21/05/2026
| RED LANTERNS
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
The appeal made at the funerals of the three Baptist leaders killed in recent days during renewed clashes between the Kuki-Zo and Naga tribal groups: “I forgive those who killed my father in the name of the Lord and in the broader interest of peace.” ...
| 18/05/2026
| INDIA
 
One year on from the lightning war of May 2025, India and Pakistan continue to celebrate the conflict as a national victory. But behind the patriotic rhetoric, new military vulnerabilities are emerging, along with a growing arms race and unresolved tensions ...
| 11/05/2026
| INDIA - PAKISTAN
 
A new report by Human Rights Watch denounces the systems used by the People's Republic to promote Han Chinese identity starting in kindergarten. Tibetan is no longer used in teaching, while parents are forced to send videos to schools to prove Chinese ...
| 05/05/2026
| TIBET - CHINA
 
The pro-democracy leader has no direct access to her family or lawyers, even after she was moved to a specially built residence. Myanmar’s opposition and human rights groups are calling it yet another sham operation by General Min Aung Hlaing to ...
| 05/05/2026
| MYANMAR
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
The Latin patriarch released a long pastoral letter on how to live as Christians in light of the "paradigm shift" that followed 7 October 2023, and the war in Gaza. Like the "New Jerusalem" in Revelation, the city could offer a way of being together ...
| 27/04/2026
| HOLY LAND
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”