AJA Newsbites is a curated roundup of major news and developments from across Asia, brought to you by members of Asia Journalist Association (AJA)
Lee Sang-ki, THE AsiaN, Korea
Signs are growing that North Korea is preparing Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, for eventual succession. Her position at major state events has become increasingly prominent, while official descriptions have risen from “beloved daughter” to “respected daughter” and even language suggesting a guiding leader. Internal propaganda reportedly uses titles such as “New Star of Korea.” In North Korea, changes in titles and protocol often signal political elevation.
The succession from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il and then Kim Jong Un transformed the country from a socialist state into a hereditary dynasty. Yet younger North Koreans, shaped by markets rather than state rations, increasingly value survival and personal choice over loyalty slogans. Power may be inherited through force, but the people’s future cannot. Genuine change will ultimately depend on ordinary young North Koreans seeking the freedom to choose their own lives.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) marked its 59th anniversary on August 8, the bloc finds itself at a pivotal moment navigating new geopolitical realities reshaping the region.
Having demonstrated success and resilience for nearly six decades, Asean’s challenge is no longer about proving its relevance. Analysts said the 11-member association must now focus on strengthening internal unity and regional integration, which will be key to preserving Asean centrality and resilience amid rising geopolitical competition and complex regional challenges. The US-Iran war and wider conflict in West Asia have exposed the region to energy security concerns and disruptions in global trade and supply chains.
Prof Dr Phar Kim Beng, director of the International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) Institute of International and Asean Studies, said Asean’s future depends not only on recognition by external partners of its centrality, but also on its ability to reinforce that centrality from within. “Ideally, Asean member states themselves have to insist that Asean is always a central and pivotal actor as a grouping. Asean also has to do a lot of work to make sure that it really becomes what it aspires to be, which is a single economic community that is strong and vibrant,” Phar, a former Asean Secretariat official, told Bernama.
He said greater efforts are required to enhance labour mobility, digital connectivity and government-to-government cooperation among member states, as the bloc charts its future under the Asean Community Vision 2045.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Thailand used M42, M46 and M85 series cluster submunitions during its military operations against Cambodia last year, with an estimated six to seven million bomblets scattered across 335 Cambodian villages, according to the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC).
CMAC Director General Heng Ratana told senior International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official Alain Aeschlimann at CMAC headquarters on August 9 that the scale of cluster munitions used by Thailand exceeded that of the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, when an estimated four million cluster submunitions were used. Ratana said the cluster munition problem now facing Cambodia is the largest in the world, adding that the figure does not yet include bomblets dropped on 14 frontline villages that have not been surveyed.
Ratana said Thai military shelling with cluster munitions hit schools, villages, temples, civilian farms and public infrastructure, which he described as intended to cause a humanitarian crisis and a serious economic threat to Cambodia, in violation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Ratana urged the ICRC to continue supporting the return of displaced Cambodian civilians, to hold the Thai side accountable for the destruction of homes and crops, and to press Thailand to strictly respect international conventions banning cluster munitions and chemical weapons.
Bhanu Ranjan Chakraborty, Asia Journalist Association, Bangladesh
Bangladesh has suffered losses of about $4 billion due to the US-Iran war, Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a program organized by a US-based charity in the northern city of Rangpur on August 9.
Mirza Fakhrul said oil and gas must be imported by ship, costing the country billions of dollars. “We have already suffered a loss of about $4 billion due to the war between Iran and America. In the meantime, we have not been without oil and gas for a single day. Maybe it has decreased a little. This problem will be solved in a very short time,” he said.
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