A powerful summer storm shook homes as locals scrambled for shelter in northeast Thailand. Footage shows heavy rains lashing houses and blowing away tents in Khon Kaen province, on March 3 afternoon.

A powerful summer storm battered homes in northeast Thailand. Footage shows the heavy downpour pummeling cars along Mittraphap Road in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, on March 3. Drivers were forced to stop on the roadside as howling winds whipped rain onto their windscreens and obscured visibility.

Philippine and U.S. Navy SEALs secured a gas and oil platform in the South China Sea in the latest joint combined exchange training between the two special operations units near the disputed waters last week.

Thailand's 26 provinces face hot weather, thunderstorms, and strong winds. Residents should prepare for weather hazards and health risks.

In December 2009, Cambodia deported 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers back to China. Last December, in the first word about them in 15 years, a relative of one of the detainees in Turkey revealed to Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews, the fate of some of the 20.

The Philippine defense secretary says his country and its allies would take measures to counter any attempt by China to impose an air defense zone or restrict freedom of flights over the South China Sea.

Indonesia is one of the founding members of ASEAN and long served as its de facto leader, playing a crucial role in mediating regional crises. Analysts warned that its leadership in the group on the South China Sea issue would wane if it stopped championing international legal norms.