Southeast Asia in September 2026: the most important developments in security
Southeast Asia in September 2026 saw naval visits and arms deals alongside a deadly airstrike in Myanmar and several violent incidents elsewhere in the region.
The month opened with the USS Abraham Lincoln docking in Thailand after 286 days at sea, most of it on a deployment in the Middle East; its crew took shore leave in a Thai beach city. Indonesia took delivery of its first aircraft carrier, the former Italian ship Garibaldi, which arrived in Jakarta on 18 September and makes Indonesia the second country in the region to operate one. Indonesia also took delivery of 12 US-made amphibious assault vehicles under a $23 million deal, announced plans to mass-produce the Piranha torpedo from 2027, and FNSS completed pre-delivery tests of the first Kaplan armoured personnel carrier for Indonesia.
In Myanmar, the military struck a market in the rebel-held Rakhine region. Local accounts on 28 September put the dead at no fewer than 33; by 29 September the toll stood at no fewer than 50, and the UN rights chief deplored the attacks. Earlier in the month an armed group's drone attack closed a Myanmar airport. In the South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said a Chinese vessel rammed a government fisheries ship off Palawan on 18 September, while China's Coast Guard warned Manila to stop what it called provocations. On 29 September the Philippine Coast Guard drove away a Chinese militia vessel and 24 small boats near Kota Island.
Crime and public safety made up the rest of the month. A Thai police officer surrendered after a standoff following a shooting at a kindergarten. On 18 September a shooting at a high school in Banga, in the southern Philippines, left several dead and many injured; reports differ between three and six students killed. Thai police detained 14 people over scams targeting Japanese victims, and reports described scam networks shifting operations to Malaysia, while Cambodia said it would target casinos in the next phase of its anti-scam sweep. Vietnam arrested three people on terrorism charges, including Norwegian and Australian citizens.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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