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
A photograph from the September 22 summit between President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump in New York has drawn criticism of South Korea’s senior officials. The image shows National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun looking down and writing in notebooks while the two presidents face each other.
The summit was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at a New York hotel, lasting about 30 minutes. It was arranged the same day after a breakthrough in investment negotiations between the two countries. The two leaders discussed US investment, nuclear-powered submarine fuel supply, shipbuilding cooperation and wartime operational control transfer.
The photo has fueled broader questions about the role of Lee’s foreign policy advisers. Wi and Cho have already faced criticism for mixed signals — the foreign ministry publicly questioning another ministry’s peace initiative and sending messages to Washington that appeared to diverge from the president’s stated positions on issues including North Korea engagement and the Hormuz deployment.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
Malaysia and China are working to strengthen bilateral security cooperation through an operational framework focusing on intelligence sharing, joint anti-narcotics efforts and combating transnational crime.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail proposed that both sides jointly draft terms of reference for a Security Cooperation Working Group, formally confirmed on July 16, during a meeting with China’s Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong. The meeting took place during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s three-day official working visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou at the invitation of the Chinese government.
“We are confident that, through this mechanism, Malaysia and China will further advance cooperation in intelligence exchange, capacity building and joint efforts to address contemporary security challenges such as transnational crime, cybersecurity threats and border management,” Saifuddin said.
On narcotics cooperation, Saifuddin said intelligence sharing between China’s National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) and the Royal Malaysia Police had led to the seizure of more than 1.03 tonnes of fentanyl citrate during Operations Black Ash and Blackwood in August 2025. He proposed a dedicated Joint Working Group between the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department and Chinese drug enforcement counterparts to institutionalize operational cooperation.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Prime Minister Hun Manet said no country should use the fight against technology-based fraud as a pretext to infringe upon another nation’s sovereignty or seize territory, warning that doing so violates international law.
Speaking on September 23 at the International Conference on Combating Online Scams in Phnom Penh — co-organized with Interpol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and China’s Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism, with delegates from more than a dozen countries — Hun Manet said international cooperation must not be weaponized as a tool for aggression.
Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia and Myanmar, has emerged as a global hub for criminal syndicates running online scam operations, often using trafficked workers. Cambodia says it shut down 665 scam sites and deported more than 21,000 foreign nationals between July 2025 and June 2026.
While stressing that countries share a responsibility to educate citizens about overseas job scams, Hun Manet urged global partners to harmonize legal frameworks, streamline extraditions and share digital evidence. He also called for operational partnerships between governments and commercial banks, telecommunications operators, technology platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges to detect illicit operations, block suspicious infrastructure and freeze accounts linked to cybercriminals.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
President Sadyr Japarov used his address to the 81st UN General Assembly on September 22 to outline Kyrgyzstan’s priorities ahead of its 2027–2028 term on the UN Security Council. Kyrgyzstan was elected to the seat on June 3 with support from 142 member states, marking its first Security Council membership since independence in 1991.
Japarov proposed a mechanism to strengthen compliance with UN decisions, including a permanent public registry of implementation, mandatory reporting by states and a four-stage response to non-compliance that could end with referral to the Security Council. He also called for reform of the Security Council itself, including greater representation for Africa and Latin America.
On sanctions, Japarov argued that their imposition should be the exclusive authority of the UN, accompanied by humanitarian assessments and clear conditions for lifting restrictions. The issue carries practical weight for Kyrgyzstan, where banks and companies face the risk of secondary sanctions.
Japarov announced the Second Global Mountain Summit, “Bishkek+25,” to be held October 21–23, 2027, and proposed a UN-backed trust fund for the preservation of Lake Issyk-Kul. Kyrgyzstan is prepared to contribute $10 million (US$10 million) from its state budget. Over the past 170 years the lake’s water level has dropped nearly 14 meters, and more than 30 percent of the Tien Shan glaciers — its primary water source — have melted in the past 70 years.
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