Welcome to Overseas Coverage’s Southeast Asia Transient.
The highlights this week: Southeast Asia diverges as Trump’s Board of Peace meets, Thailand broadcasts a governing coalition, a Malaysian anti-corruption fee is accused of company blackmail, and Indonesia cracks down on unlawful commerce in infants.
Southeast Asia Torn Over Trump’s Board of Peace
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is because of maintain its inaugural assembly on Wednesday in Washington. Three Southeast Asian nations—Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam—are resulting from attend. The remainder of the area is steering clear.
Indonesia is an fascinating case. President Prabowo Subianto will attend the assembly and has supplied to ship as much as 8,000 troops to behave as peacekeepers in Gaza. Some 1,000 can be able to deploy by April, with the remaining prepared by June.
Prabowo is eager to construct Indonesia’s profile on the world stage and sees peacekeeping as a path to this. Again in 2022 as protection minister he even supplied a peace plan for Ukraine. And a suggestion of Indonesian peacekeepers for numerous conflicts was central to his speech on the U.N. Basic Meeting final 12 months.
Gaza appears to have gained his explicit consideration. Since Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, the symbolic weight of the battle could also be one motive. Prabowo’s want to butter up Trump as he seems to finalize Indonesia’s commerce take care of the US is perhaps one other.
There are professionals to Prabowo’s peacekeeping proposal.
Indonesia has expertise deploying troops on such missions, together with within the Center East. Its first deployment was to Egypt in 1956 following the Suez disaster, and a few 1,000 Indonesian troops are at present stationed on the Israel-Lebanon border.
The transfer additionally brings massive political dangers.
Some suppose that it dangers damaging Indonesia’s conventional nonbloc diplomacy. Extra viscerally, the Palestinian trigger is immensely in style in Indonesia, whereas Israel—with which Indonesia nonetheless doesn’t have diplomatic relations—is reviled.
Prabowo’s plans have sparked criticism that he’s gentle on Israel. If Indonesian troops are seen as failing to guard Palestinians or as a substitute defending Israel, count on a pointy backlash.
Indonesia’s authorities has sought to reassure the general public. Indonesian troops, it declared, can be in Gaza solely in a humanitarian position: defending civilians, offering support, and coaching native police.
Prabowo has additionally reportedly mentioned that Indonesia will go away the board if it fails to pursue Palestinian freedom, which appears to have softened opposition from Muslim teams.
Vietnamese Secretary-Basic To Lam can be anticipated to attend the assembly in Washington. Freshly reappointed to his place by a celebration congress held in January, it’s notable that his first go to overseas can be to the US—not China, as is often the case.
A believable rationalization is Lam’s push for development. America is Vietnam’s largest export market. Reporting on the matter suggests that Vietnam will primarily be taking the chance to hash out the small print of final 12 months’s commerce settlement with Washington.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet may even attend. U.S.-Cambodia relations are on a robust upswing after Trump’s intervention within the 2025 border warfare with Thailand.
The area’s different nations, nevertheless, are steering clear. Regardless of its standing as a U.S. ally, the Philippines was not within the first batch of nations requested to affix the board. It’s now invited however has but to reply.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, lengthy a vocal supporter of Palestine, has mentioned that Israel must cease strikes on Gaza and permit the free circulation of support earlier than Malaysia may take into account becoming a member of.
Singapore has additionally maintained quiet skepticism. Overseas Minister Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned in early February that Singapore is “assessing” Trump’s invitation. However in October 2025, when the Board of Peace idea was first floated, he indicated restricted curiosity, saying that Singapore was “not campaigning” to affix.
Thailand, having beforehand given the excuse that it couldn’t make such a choice previous to its election final week, has but to make clear its place. It did flag that Trump’s mooted membership price ticket of $1 billion can be a problem.
Thailand authorities coalition kinds. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul introduced on Feb. 13 he would kind a governing coalition with third-placed occasion Pheu Thai. At time of writing, this association plus pacts with a variety of small events will give the federal government a snug majority of roughly 45 seats within the Thai parliament’s key decrease chamber.
Anutin has introduced that his occasion will take the lead on safety and the economic system.
On the previous difficulty, count on a tricky line on Cambodia. Anutin oversaw a second spherical of combating between the 2 nations in December, when Thailand seized disputed border areas that it now appears decided to carry. He additionally promised to maintain the border closed for now, construct border partitions, and abandon a 2001 memorandum of understanding on maritime borders.
Publish-election, nevertheless, he could show to be extra measured. Anutin didn’t bang the nationalist drum after a land mine blast on Feb. 11 that noticed one other Thai soldier injured—a problem just like different incidents that helped spark earlier rounds of battle with Cambodia.
On the economic system, Anutin has promised fiscal self-discipline and recruited credible technocrats. Squaring this with some costly marketing campaign guarantees could possibly be tough.
Nonetheless, markets have surged, welcoming what seems like a robust authorities after years of unstable coalitions.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Fee faces corruption scandal. Malaysia’s prime anti-corruption enforcer stands accused of large-scale graft by sources interviewed in a Bloomberg investigation. The article alleges that Azam Baki, the chief commissioner of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Fee (MACC), collaborated with a coterie of shady businessmen in company shakedowns.
The alleged modus operandi was for the businessmen to purchase shares in an organization after which have the bulk house owners hauled in for MACC questioning. They’d be instructed to surrender management and even promote their shares in the event that they wished the investigation to go away.
Azam can be accused of breaching rules on shareholding by public officers, one thing that he was beforehand accused of in 2022. He has denied all allegations.
The scandal may show extraordinarily damaging for Anwar. The prime minister has prolonged Azam’s time period as commissioner 3 times after the latter hit the obligatory retirement age in 2023.
It additionally comes at a time when Anwar faces anger over a perceived failure to satisfy his guarantees to wash up Malaysia’s politics and his obvious use of the political darkish arts that he as soon as condemned.
Notably, on Azam’s watch, 4 main adversaries of Anwar have confronted corruption investigations.
The police are actually investigating Bloomberg for defamation. However this scandal is resisting burial.
Anwar beforehand defended Azam however has now promised a particular committee to research the allegations, rebuked not simply by the opposition but in addition influential members of his personal occasion—together with his daughter.
Malaysia’s influential king has additionally spoken out, declaring that “nobody is above the regulation.”
Philippines to file expenses over ferry deaths. The Philippine authorities will file administrative and possibly felony expenses over the late January sinking of a passenger ferry. M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 sank on Jan. 26 whereas carrying 372 individuals. At time of writing, 57 have been confirmed useless and 22 remained lacking.
The Philippine authorities has moved to open an administrative case towards the corporate in control of the ferry, Aleson Transport Strains, and should pursue felony expenses.
Within the meantime, the corporate’s complete passenger fleet has been grounded. Fourteen members of the coast guard and the maritime authority have additionally been faraway from their posts and will face felony expenses, amid suspicions of corruption.
The ferry reportedly set sail regardless of being overloaded and having points with its seaworthiness certification. Accidents at sea are sadly widespread within the archipelago, the place many journey island to island on usually ropey ferry providers.
Nevertheless, regardless of a rise in reported accidents since 2022, casualties have been declining—till the most recent incident. Aleson Transport Strains appears to have a notably poor document.
Indonesian devotees pray and burn incense sticks throughout Chinese language Lunar New Yr eve at Hong San Ko Tee temple in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Feb. 17.Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Photos
FP’s Most Learn This Week
Transparency Worldwide has launched its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index. Information is blended, with 5 Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations member states rated secure or enhancing and 6 seeing their rating decline. The rankings are as follows, going from least to most corrupt, with adjustments in comparison with 2024.
- Singapore, ranked third worldwide, no change since 2024.
- Brunei, thirty first, no rating in 2024.
- Malaysia, 54th, up three spots.
- Timor-Leste, 73rd, no change.
- Vietnam, 81st, up seven.
- Indonesia, tied at 109th, down 10.
- Laos, tied at 109th, up 5.
- Thailand, 116th, down 9.
- Philippines, a hundred and twentieth, down six.
- Cambodia, 163rd, down 5.
- Myanmar, 169th, down one.
Made in China, managed in Singapore. Aylon Berger explores how Singapore has change into the worldwide launching pad for Chinese language corporations using synthetic intelligence, equivalent to TikTok and Manus, within the Interpreter.
Randy pachyderms get the tablet. Thailand is utilizing dart-fired contraceptives on wild elephants in a bid to manage numbers and restrict conflicts with people, by Jintamas Saksornchai in The Related Press.
Brunei must plan for a post-oil future. The southeast Asian petrostate’s financial mannequin could also be working out of highway, by Anthony Tan and Poh Lynn Ng in East Asia Discussion board.
In Focus: Indonesia’s Child-Smuggling Enterprise
Up to now 12 months, a collection of outstanding instances in Indonesia have introduced the observe of baby-smuggling to public consideration.
In July 2025, police within the nation busted a syndicate that’s thought to have offered a minimum of 25 infants to patrons, 15 of which went to Singapore.
In January this 12 months, one other ring working in Indonesia was caught after neighbors turned suspicious a few string of pregnant girls coming and going from a rented home.
The enterprise mannequin is straightforward. Syndicates discover poor pregnant girls on social media and supply to purchase their youngsters, usually posing as a wealthy childless couple. The going charge for moms appears to be between $500 to $1,500 plus bills, with greater costs for handsome newborns.
The infants are then resold at the next value—typically greater than $16,000—to folks, someday overseas, who want to undertake.
Strict restrictions on abortion, cumbersome adoption legal guidelines, poverty, corruption, and shoddy paperwork all make Indonesia a fertile searching floor.
Singapore is contemplating reforms to adoption legal guidelines to attempt to forestall the observe. For now, larger scrutiny has left some dad and mom seeking to undertake legitimately from Indonesia going through delays.
There are nuances to this sinister commerce.
Indonesia has long-standing traditions of adoption and fostering, which might typically contain money funds. That is nonetheless usually executed by way of prolonged household or social networks the place organic dad and mom can stay involved with the kid.
Different instances, circumstances are harsher, with dad and mom giving up their youngsters to strangers and being banned from contact.
What appears new is the marketization of the method.
