LAOAG, Philippines -- Japan's Self-Defense Forces participated Monday in live-fire drills as part of the annual U.S.-Philippine Balikatan military exercises, joining a multilateral effort to boost deterrence amid China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea.

TOKYO -- Japan's JSR plans to build its first Taiwanese production facility for semiconductor materials, Nikkei has learned, supplying photoresist to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) as Japanese players seek to retain their grip on the market amid growing Chinese competition.

TOKYO -- China has surpassed Japan for the first time in the total number of patent applications for perovskite solar cells, considered a next-generation innovation for renewable energy.

SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asian countries are shifting their oil imports from the Gulf to alternative suppliers, tapping Brunei, Libya, the U.S. and others to keep their economies running, official trade statistics and shipping data show.

NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is set to form the government in the politically crucial eastern state of West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh, for the first time, vote counting trends for elections held in April showed on Monday.

NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party looks set to form the government in the politically crucial eastern state of West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh, for the first time, early vote-counting trends for elections held in April showed on Monday.

KUALA LUMPUR -- Starting in June, Malaysia is set to introduce biodiesel with higher palm oil content in a bid to reduce retail fuel prices, which remain elevated as uncertainty lingers over the Middle East conflict.

HONG KONG -- Asia's local currency debt market has emerged as an unlikely winner from the market volatility caused by the Iran war and a growing desire on the part of investors and companies to reduce their exposure to the dollar.

Global fixed-income investors have been adding Asian currency debt in recent years as part of a broader strategy to diversify their portfolios. The shift has accelerated since the outbreak of the conflict in Iran on Feb. 28, which has sent oil prices skyrocketing, rattled the U.S