Welcome to International Coverage’s Southeast Asia Temporary.
The highlights this week: Again-to-back typhoons as soon as once more batter the area, an Indonesian college is attacked, a controversial rapper is caught up in a Malaysian homicide investigation, and Southeast Asia contemplates nuclear energy.
On Monday got here the late-breaking information that Thailand was suspending implementation of the deal it signed with Cambodia final month. This was the settlement that U.S. President Donald Trump presided over and considerations a border dispute between the 2 nations. Thailand’s announcement got here after its troopers had been injured in a land mine explosion close to the Cambodian border, a Thai spokesperson mentioned. Cambodia has mentioned it stays dedicated to the settlement.
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Tremendous Storm Fung-Wong Batters the Philippines
It virtually appears as if the Philippines is cursed. At time of writing, Tremendous Storm Fung-wong is battering the nation’s most populous island, Luzon. About 1,000,000 individuals have been evacuated, and at the least eight have been killed.
The storm arrived simply days after the devastating Storm Kalmaegi. The dying toll from that occasion stands at 229, with at the least 224 deaths within the Philippines and 5 in Vietnam. And that is simply the newest in a collection of storms which have relentlessly pummeled the nation—and the broader area.
The newest storms occurred unusually late within the 12 months. Storm season often tails off on the finish of October. As I wrote final month, excessive climate within the area appears to be getting worse as world warming intensifies storms and urbanization exacerbates floods.
Why is Southeast Asia disproportionately affected by excessive climate, although?
A key issue is the area’s sample of settlement, with many main cities clustered alongside the coast. East and Southeast Asia account for 40 p.c of the world’s city inhabitants—but in addition 60 p.c of the world’s inhabitants dwelling in cities 5 meters or much less above sea stage, in accordance with a 2024 U.N. examine.
This implies elevated publicity to typhoons, which sweep in from the oceans, and floods, by dint of water accumulating in lower-lying areas. Certainly, the examine finds that in 2025, greater than 200 million inhabitants of city facilities in East and Southeast Asia had been uncovered to riverine flooding, the best variety of any area on this planet.
Lastly, it’s important to contemplate not simply rain however warmth. Cities in East and Southeast Asia even have the second-highest share of residents going through a excessive temperature enhance in a high-emissions state of affairs. Solely Europe could be more durable hit.
Southeast Asia has been hit by a collection of brutal heatwaves this 12 months. And worryingly, they arrived earlier within the 12 months than regular. This was regardless of predictions that this 12 months’s La Niña cycle may cool issues down.
Can the area adapt? Sure—in principle. There’s loads you are able to do to blunt the affect of maximum climate, beginning with improved forecasting. Different measures embody adapting metropolis infrastructure to offer flood defenses and cooling facilities, enhancing catastrophe response and restoration, and growing types of catastrophe insurance coverage to assist nations take care of the excessive prices.
All this requires cash and administrative competence, although, which aren’t assured. The continued scandal within the Philippines over “ghost” flood protection tasks—left incomplete after the cash was misappropriated—is an instance of this downside.
Cash spent coping with local weather disasters drains sources for coping with different points, too. The Lowy Institute’s 2025 Southeast Asia Help Map exhibits that cash spent on climate-related catastrophe aid hit document highs in 2023 (the final 12 months with complete knowledge) and since then appears to have climbed larger once more. All this comes towards a backdrop of shrinking world help budgets.
As issues stand, the image is grim. Southeast Asia presently spends solely 7.4 p.c of what it ought to on catastrophe adaptation, in accordance with a U.N. estimate.
Indonesian college assault. A bomb detonated within the college mosque of an Indonesian highschool in North Jakarta throughout Friday prayers left 96 individuals injured. Fortunately, nobody was killed. The suspected perpetrator is reportedly a 17-year-old scholar on the college. He’s now present process therapy at a hospital forward of police questioning.
Whereas motivations are unclear, this can be a case of “salad bar extremism,” frequent amongst up to date lone-wolf terrorists—idiosyncratic conspiracy theorism inflected with components of far-right ideology. An object resembling a firearm was recovered close to the scene with a neo-Nazi slogan on it plus references to the Christchurch shooter and on-line far-right esoterica.
Indonesian police are additionally investigating potential hyperlinks to terrorist networks.
The general public college is located inside a army housing complicated occupied by a regional naval command. College students on the college usually come from the households of officers, a few of them high-ranking.
Thai king to go to China. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn will go to China on Nov. 13-17. The king and Queen Suthida will meet President Xi Jinping after which Premier Li Qiang. The journey would be the first Thai royal go to to the Folks’s Republic of China for the reason that two nations established diplomatic relations 50 years in the past. China has additionally proclaimed itself as the primary “main nation” formally visited by the Thai king since his ascent to the throne in 2016.
The transfer comes at a time when Thailand is working exhausting to lure Chinese language vacationers again to the nation. Tales about fraud and human trafficking in Thailand, with a Chinese language actor kidnapped and transported to a Myanmar rip-off compound in January, have sparked a pointy drop in Chinese language guests. Hoping to fight this pattern, Thailand lately canceled plans to legalize casinos underneath stress from Beijing.
Royal diplomacy has lengthy been an necessary a part of Thai-Chinese language relations. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the long-reigning predecessor to the present king, was one of many first international heads of state to fulfill Deng Xiaoping after the latter assumed management of China. Deng stopped over in Thailand on his approach to Malaysia and Singapore in 1978. The king additionally met with almost each subsequent Chinese language chief.
Malaysian rapper homicide thriller. Wee Meng Chee aka Namewee, a well known Malaysian Chinese language rapper, was remanded in custody by Malaysian police final Wednesday. This was in reference to the Oct. 22 dying of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh.
Often called “nurse goddess” by her followers, Hsieh was discovered lifeless in a resort bathtub in the identical room that Namewee was staying in, in accordance with stories. Namewee contacted emergency companies after he discovered her unresponsive within the toilet, police mentioned. They discovered tablets within the room, and Namewee examined optimistic for a cocktail of narcotics. He was arrested on medication expenses. Hsieh’s dying was initially labeled as “sudden dying” however was reclassified as homicide. On Nov. 5, Namewee turned himself into the police, promising to cooperate.
Namewee has lengthy courted controversy with cheeky and politically infused lyrics. He first attracted public consideration in 2007 together with his music “Negarakuku”—which roughly interprets as “Cock Nation” and puns on Malaysia’s nationwide anthem “Negaraku,” or “My Nation.” This document led to his questioning underneath the Sedition Act. Subsequent songs reminiscent of “Oh My God” in 2016 and “Fragile” in 2021 took intention at, respectively, faith and Chinese language nationalists discussing Taiwan, Xinjiang, and different points. He was briefly arrested for the previous and blacklisted in China over the latter.
Two sheep butt heads throughout a sheep preventing contest in Ranca Bango village in West Java, Indonesia, on Nov. 9.Aditya Irawan/NurPhoto through Getty Photographs
Believed to have existed for the reason that early nineteenth century, sheep preventing is a practice of the Garut individuals of West Java. This contest is regulated to solely 20 headbutt matches to keep away from deadly accidents and even dying to the taking part sheep. The sheep are judged on well being, stance, preventing approach, endurance, and braveness. House owners compete for engaging prizes reminiscent of fridges, washing machines, cash, and motorbikes.
FP’s Most Learn This Week
My Y in VnExpress seems to be on the brutal working hours of ride-hailing drivers and the toll that a budget drives tackle their well being.
U.S. President Donald Trump needs a brand new luxurious golf course. Vietnamese farmers need extra money for his or her land. Nguyen Xuan Quynh in Bloomberg digs into Trump vs. the farmers.
Arlina Arshad within the Straits Instances takes a take a look at a social media storm engulfing an Indonesian mayor, noting that the incident “uncovered how politics in Indonesia has merged with efficiency.”
In Focus: Southeast Asia’s Nuclear Flirtation
For a very long time, Southeast Asian nations prevented something nuclear. A 1995 treaty bans any members of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations from growing or possessing nuclear weapons. And the announcement of AUKUS, between Australia, the UK, and america, in 2021 sparked a flurry of hysteria in regional governments—by no means thoughts that the submarines could be nuclear-powered, not armed.
The one regional try at civilian use, the Bataan Nuclear Energy Plant within the Philippines, was mothballed when it was close to completion. A revolution after which Chernobyl prompted the Philippine state to desert the undertaking in 1986. Flirtations with nuclear energy by Vietnam and Malaysia had been ditched within the 2010s over worries about price and threat.
Now, although, attitudes could also be altering, with governments brazenly discussing a nuclear future. As in the remainder of the world, the area’s curiosity in nuclear energy has been prompted by the inexperienced transition. Renewable choices, significantly photo voltaic and storage, have seen enormous reductions in costs. However nuclear energy affords zero-carbon energy that doesn’t fluctuate relying on the climate.
True, it’s weak to excessive prices, however new expertise might drive this down. China and Russia are on the forefront. The previous leads the world in constructing new crops, and the latter has made inducements of civilian nuclear expertise a cornerstone of its diplomacy. South Korea and, to a lesser extent, america and France are different potential gamers.
In Malaysia, which has among the area’s most credible plans, the federal government has mentioned public opinion stays one of many largest challenges. And in Thailand, a majority of individuals nonetheless had considerations about security and waste, in accordance with latest survey. However a 2023 ballot discovered {that a} majority of respondents within the Philippines had been open to nuclear energy. And a 2015 ballot discovered 75 p.c help in Indonesia.
Nonetheless, attitudes could also be very totally different for the locals who discover a plant being constructed on their doorsteps.
