Southeast Asia in February 2026: the most important developments in society
In Southeast Asia in February 2026, disinformation was a recurring subject. On 26 February a fabricated graphic falsely linking Sara Duterte to the Philippine flood control scandal was widely shared and misled social media users. Singapore and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong were reported to be the target of an AI-driven disinformation campaign on YouTube, and a hoax about free internet service circulated in Indonesia.
Extreme weather and natural hazards affected several countries. Tropical Storm Basyang, known internationally as Penha, moved toward eastern Mindanao, and flooding hit Surigao del Sur. Indonesia's weather agency issued a red alert for flooding in Bali, a sinkhole in Central Aceh kept widening and threatened farmers' livelihoods, and the Kanlaon volcano in the Philippines erupted, sending an ash plume 2,500 meters into the air. Summer storms were forecast for upper Thailand.
Public health and population issues also featured. Malaysia reported 503 new cases in a tuberculosis outbreak. Singapore recorded its first measles case in a pre-school since it stepped up containment measures, and its Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the fertility rate had fallen to a record low of 0.87, calling it an existential challenge. Thailand introduced measures to address its falling birth rate and moved to reduce sugar in popular coffee and tea drinks. Dozens of tigers died in Thailand from a viral infection, and an oil spill reached a small island off Phuket. Two mpox cases were confirmed in Russian tourists returning from Thailand.
Indonesia's president said the government will proceed with its free meals program despite what he called an extraordinary campaign against it. Turkey, Oman and Singapore announced that Ramadan would begin on 19 February, and Singapore's Food Agency recalled two batches of Nestle Milo snack bars over possible rubber fragments.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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