East Asia

China has established a new military presence in a Southeast Asian neighbouring country, according to Reuters reporting. The development is likely to raise concern among regional governments and Washington, which have watched Beijing expand its security footprint in Southeast Asia through base access, joint exercises and security agreements with neighbouring states.

Indonesia is on course to overtake Thailand as Southeast Asia's largest travel market, according to industry reporting. The shift reflects Indonesia's growing domestic and inbound tourism, potentially reshaping how airlines, hotels and online travel agencies allocate investment across the region. Observers point to Thailand's reliance on international arrivals, particularly from China, while Indonesia's huge domestic base gives it scale and resilience.

Researchers have published a high-resolution genome-wide association study of roughly 600,000 people with East Asian ancestry, aiming to decompose population-level differences in type 2 diabetes risk. The work, appearing in Nature, identifies ancestry-specific genetic factors that may explain why diabetes patterns differ between East Asian and European populations, with potential implications for risk prediction and treatment across populations.

Tokyo has recorded an unprecedented 35 consecutive days of rain, a historic streak attributed to El Niño conditions and weather fronts stalling over Japan. The prolonged wet spell has drawn attention to shifting patterns in East Asia's summer climate, with meteorologists pointing to the interplay of ocean warming and stationary frontal systems behind the persistent downpours.