From Southeast Asian nations skipping Balikatan drills to India’s nuclear breakthrough, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenSCMPPublished: 3:15pm, 21 Apr 2026Updated: 3:49pm, 21 Apr 2026We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.1. Singapore balances national interest with rising anti-US sentimentIn a rare public protest in Singapore, hundreds gathered in Hong Lim Park over the weekend to denounce the “US war machine”. They brandished placards and banners, including one with horns drawn on US presidents past and present captioned: “This is what terrorists look like.”
Balikatan, the flagship annual military exercise between Manila and Washington, begins in the Philippines this month without a single neighbouring Southeast Asian member taking part, despite the drills’ growing scale and multinational reach.
Thai police arrested seven French tourists after a viral Songkran confrontation in Phuket in which revellers surrounded a van, sprayed its driver with water and later ignored police orders to disperse
