Children make up half the 1.3 million Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh, most of whom fled a brutal 2017 military crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar that UN investigators called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

The annual "Super Garuda Shield" drills will take place in the capital Jakarta and several locations on the western island of Sumatra and the Riau archipelago until September 4.

Japan's role as a stable partner for Africa, a key region for its economic security, has grown increasingly important amid concerns over China's aid programs and the US recent inward-looking policies.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed on Saturday to closer security and economic ties ahead of Lee's planned summit with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

Despite their differences, the two US allies rely heavily on Washington to counter China's growing regional influence.

During his two-day visit to Seoul, Foreign Minister Sugiono met with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to talk about advancing cooperation between both countries, including advancing their special strategic partnership.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wooed countries in the Indo-Pacific to deepen cooperation with Germany and uphold free and rule-based trade and diplomacy during his two-day visit to Jakarta.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba proposed an "economic zone" encompassing the Indian Ocean region and Africa during a major aid conference for African nations on Wednesday, seeking to tap into the economic potential of a continent where China is increasing its clout.

Any escalation in the Indo-Pacific region would have unforeseeable consequences that would threaten global prosperity and security as well as Germany and Europe’s interests in general, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during his visit to Jakarta.

The embattled junta plans to hold elections in areas it controls starting on December 28 and has been pressing a series of counter-offensives to expand its territorial holdings.

China will stage a massive military parade next month in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War Two following the surrender of Japan, mobilizing tens of thousands of people and showcasing never-seen-before weapons.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with Foreign Minister Sugiono in Jakarta as part of her trip to Indonesia and Vietnam to bolster ties with both countries, often deemed as important Southeast Asian partners for Australia.

The Philippine frigate BRP Jose Rizal, Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane and Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec were participating in the operation, which a Philippine military official said was not directed at any country.

Modi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit opening on August 31 in Tianjin, his first visit to China since 2018, Ajit Doval said, in public comments at the start of a meeting with Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Myanmar's junta said Monday that long-promised elections will start on December 28, despite a raging civil war that has put much of the country out of its control, and international monitors slating the poll as a charade.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday discussed border peace, trade issues and bilateral exchanges, aiming to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Pockets of Indonesia’s diaspora community, estimated to be six million, came together in the hundreds or thousands to participate in flag-raising ceremonies, tumpeng (yellow rice) cutting celebrations and a plethora of traditional games, gathering from Geneva, Tehran, Islamabad, Den Haag and Kuala Lumpur against the backdrop of an increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape. 

Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul praised Japan's solidarity with Europe over Ukraine as he prepared to board a plane, and highlighted the importance and economic potential of the two populous Asian countries.

Japan's role as a peace promoter faces increasing challenges in a conflict-prone world, even as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II the importance of maintaining "remorse" and the lessons learned from the deadly war.

Hui, a high-profile participant at the time who has since resettled in Adelaide, said the Australian government had granted him a protection visa this week, with asylum also extending to his wife, children and parents.

The majority of the deaths, 211, were recorded in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Naruhito said he felt "a deep and renewed sense of sorrow" in a sombre speech alongside Empress Masako in an indoor arena in the centre of the Japanese capital, where the national flag flew at half-mast outside.

Bakamla successfully brought home nine Indonesians from South Korea and the Philippines in two separate incidents.

Jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak won a major court battle on Wednesday that took him a step closer to being able to serve out a years-long jail term over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal at home.

South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested after a court late on Tuesday issued a warrant to arrest her following accusations of graft that she denies, a special prosecutor leading a wide-reaching probe said.

The global agreement on plastic pollution, which is expected to be produced on Thursday, will be a ‘point of no return’, which requires high commitment from all countries in order to eradicate the problem once and for all, according to Southeast Asian environmental activists.

Amid today’s increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape, the government is turning to its overseas citizens as strategic partners in safeguarding the nation’s future and strengthening the economy, officials said at the second Diaspora Global Summit in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

Lula conducted a five-day state visit to China in May, when he told a forum for cooperation between Beijing and Latin America that his region did not want to "start a new Cold War".

United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators.

Bangladesh shelters more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in camps in its southeastern district of Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee settlement.