Bloomberg China can fish in parts of the South China Sea where the Philippines holds exclusive rights, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said, despite warnings from other officials this would be unconstitutional. Duterte is giving China this “privilege” out of friendship, and because of funding and trade relations extended by Beijing to his government, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in an ...

Bloomberg As a monster Asian trade pact enters its next round of deliberations this weekend, Deborah Elms is upbeat about its prospects for completion this year — though perhaps without all 16 members. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership — which includes all 10 Southeast Asian economies plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand — could be finalised ...

Bloomberg Indonesian prisons are overflowing with convicts and authorities worried about their negative influence on city dwellers are exploring shifting them to some of the uninhabited islands in the archipelago. Overcrowded jails mean petty criminals like chicken thieves are lodged together with drug traffickers and terrorists, according to Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto. The inability ...