Southeast Asia in February 2026: the most important developments in security
In Southeast Asia in February 2026, the most widely reported security development was the effect of the US-Israel strikes on Iran at the end of the month. Six Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights were cancelled, and Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority warned of delays and additional checks at all borders. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered his foreign and migrant workers' departments to secure Filipinos abroad.
Crackdowns on scam operations ran through the month. China executed four leading members of a Myanmar-based criminal gang, and its Supreme People's Court later announced death sentences for 16 members of the Ming and Bai gangs. A raid on a scam compound in Cambodia led to the detention of thousands, including nearly 1,800 Chinese nationals, and Thai military officials reported finding fake police stations and uniforms there. Cambodia later announced the closure of nearly 200 scam centers and the detention of about 800 people, and 15 Japanese nationals were detained in Phnom Penh. Thousands of people fled the compounds and many found little support. Japan and Thailand agreed to strengthen cooperation against human trafficking.
On the Thai-Cambodian border, Thai media reported a grenade fired from Cambodia into Thai territory in early February. On 24 February the Thai army reported an exchange of fire after a grenade landed in Si Sa Ket province, with Thai forces answering using an M79 grenade launcher; no injuries were reported. Elsewhere in Thailand, a gunman opened fire at a school in Songkhla province on 11 February and took children hostage before police stormed the building, and a shooting at a school in Hat Yai left a 14-year-old girl injured and at least one school staff member dead.
In Bali, police investigated the kidnapping of a Ukrainian national, with mutilated body parts found and foreign suspects held or sought. Indonesia's defence ministry said its first aircraft carrier is meant for disaster relief and has no invasive intent. The multinational Cobra Gold exercise began in Thailand on 24 February and Singapore said defence spending will stay at 3% of GDP.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.