East Asia

China arms sales experience slight growth globally as challenges remain

The United States was the world's largest arms exporter last year with 41 American companies in the top 100

South Korea’s Yoon faces impeachment as key conservative turns against him

Conservative party leader calls Yoon’s 'swift suspension' necessary after failed martial law bid

China fine tunes economic stimulus as it braces for new US administration 

A top-level annual economic planning conference is scheduled for next week that will help set China's strategy for the coming year

Trump picks former Senator David Perdue as ambassador to China

Perdue, a Republican from Georgia who served in the Senate from 2015-2021, previously lived in Hong Kong during a 40-year career as a business executive

Tokyo-Beijing forum aims to warm chilly relations

Paraguay expels Chinese envoy over Taiwan 'interference'

Southeast Asian scam centers grow as more people are trafficked to staff them

Southeast Asia's online scamming industry and the human trafficking behind it keeps growing. Experts say there are hundreds of thousands of victims. Dave Grunebaum reports. Video: VOA. Graphic video: Pertubuhan Kebajikan Al-Ehsan Islamiah Malaysia. Warning: Video includes disturbing content.

Rights groups, Western governments urge Azerbaijan to release human rights defender

Rufat Safarov was due to meet with US senators next week to receive State Department's Human Rights Defender Award 

Emerging anti-US axis worrisome but 'not acting as a bloc'

Growing cooperation by Russia, China, Iran, North Korea has yet to provide true counter to US, its allies, according to top US intelligence official 

In Southeast Asia’s scam centers, human trafficking worsens

Victims are held against their will, tortured and punished for not complying or being successful with scam contacts.

Pacific Islands call on International Court to force climate action

Pacific Island nations are arguing before the International Court of Justice, calling for an advisory opinion on the legal obligations of countries to fight climate change. As VOA’s Jessica Stone reports, the cost of inaction is most acute for Pacific Islanders.

Chinese online retailer Temu suspended in Vietnam

Vietnam suspends operations of Chinese online retailer Temu after it failed to meet government deadline to register the company by end of November