01 February 2024 | 11:11 a.m. SAST
Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
2-min read

The Philippines has emerged as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, surpassing regional powerhouses Malaysia and Vietnam. An expansion of 5,6 percent gross domestic product was recorded for the Southeast Asian nation, with the expansion driven by consumption, services, and investment.

This achievement is contextualised within the region’s economic history and highlights its trajectory.

“The Philippines now being touted as becoming the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia actually fits the bill in terms of where Southeast Asia is in the context of its own economic trajectory,” Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Global Dialogue, said in the Asia-Pacific Report on Radio Islam International this morning.

While celebrating this milestone, concerns persist regarding the need for holistic development, considering factors such as stability, education, and employment amidst geopolitical tensions and upcoming elections.

“Stats are only as important in terms of if development takes place with regard to what we call the Human Development Index,” Naidu noted.

New Zealand has agreed to officially consider the potential advantages of joining the Aukus pact, the most recent indication that Wellington will support the security accord. The Aukus pact, signed in September 2021, primarily intends to challenge China’s influence in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.

New Zealand, a traditionally pacifist country that has a nuclear-free policy, is interested only in pillar two of the Aukus defense project, which pertains to collaborating in strategically delicate fields like quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI). The US and the UK are the other members of Aukus.

In a lighter yet intriguing development, The Asia-Pacific Report covers the “butter chicken wars” unfolding in New Delhi. Two restaurants are embroiled in a legal battle over the ownership of the iconic butter chicken recipe.

The owners of the Moti Mahal restaurant have sued rival chain Daryaganj for almost ZAR 4 500 000, alleging that the latter falsely claimed to be the creator of both butter chicken and the lentil dish, dal makhani.

The controversy has drawn national attention on the subcontinent, with raging social media debates, as well as features on the dish’s history airing on Indian TV networks.

Naidu explains that the “bizarre case” underscores the intersection of culinary innovation and intellectual property rights.

Listen to the Asia-Pacific Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Junaid Kharsany.