Welcome to Overseas Coverage’s Southeast Asia Temporary.
The highlights this week: The Philippine president embroiled in increasing corruption scandal, Thailand’s Thaksin dynasty faces lawfare, and Malaysia to ban teenagers from social media.
Corruption Protests Shake the Philippine President
Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is below critical strain.
A wave of protests over corruption in flood management initiatives has piled strain on his authorities.
Cupboard ministers have resigned. And additional rallies, which the Catholic Church is throwing its weight behind, are deliberate for Nov. 30.
The turmoil has sparked hypothesis about Marcos being unseated through impeachment or coup.
For now, this risk most likely shouldn’t be taken too critically.
The army and main politicians have denied contemplating such choices. And there may be barely a contemporary Filipino president who hasn’t at a while or different been topic to such rumors or confronted failed makes an attempt.
Plus, the final time a president was compelled to depart workplace early was in 2001, when Joseph Estrada resigned amid mass protests over corruption and impeachment makes an attempt.
The latest try at a coup, in the meantime, was a humid squib in 2007 that lasted just a few hours.
Nonetheless, there’s no denying the federal government is creaking.
On Nov. 18, two senior cupboard ministers—the chief secretary, who serves because the president’s proper hand, and the secretary for price range and administration—each left the federal government.
These departures observe that of Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Bongbong’s, who resigned his place as speaker of the Home of Representatives in September amid accusations that he had been concerned within the flood initiatives graft.
Marcos himself can be below fireplace.
The president has been publicly accused of pocketing 25 billion pesos’ ($425 million) value of misappropriated funds by Zaldy Co, a former consultant and onetime ally of Marcos with an excellent arrest warrant over his personal alleged position within the scandal.
Whereas talking at an anti-corruption rally on Nov. 17, Marcos’s estranged sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, accused him of being addicted to cocaine.
Sen. Marcos stated this left him unable to guide and on the mercy of corrupt “minions.” (Representatives of President Marcos have denied each costs.)
These claims are usually not new. Former President Rodrigo Duterte beforehand raised questions concerning the 2025 price range and in addition alleged Marcos was a drug addict.
Marcos has pushed again, denying the fees and going after the Duterte clan.
Allies of his tried to impeach Sara Duterte, Rodrigo’s daughter who serves as vp.
And, in March, Filipino police arrested Rodrigo Duterte and handed him over to the Worldwide Felony Court docket over allegations of extrajudicial killings that passed off throughout the “conflict on medication” he led as president.
What distinguishes the present flip of occasions from earlier elite feuding is the rising widespread protests serving to to propel the flood scandal ahead.
Filipinos sick of the rampant graft that characterizes nationwide politics are making their voices heard—echoing different protests which have shaken and toppled governments the world over.
Successive typhoons ravaging the nation have added saliency to the difficulty of flood management infrastructure corruption.
Notably, makes an attempt by the Dutertes to place themselves on the head of this insurgency have but to return off.
Imee Marcos, a Duterte ally, was allowed to deal with the gang on the protests earlier this month.
However Sara Duterte was not current, and pro-Duterte teams weren’t allowed to affix the principle protests.
To gauge widespread anger, watch the protests on Nov. 30.
Mid-November’s protests noticed a powerful 650,000 individuals gathered in Manila. However they had been additionally organized by Iglesia ni Cristo—an uncommon native church identified to maintain a good grip over its flock of three million congregants.
The irony is that it was Marcos who first helped propel this concern to prominence.
Confronted with dropping ballot numbers following Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and smarting from a poor midterm elections efficiency, he made combating flood infrastructure corruption a signature concern.
Sadly for him, Filipinos are able to asking primary questions like, “Weren’t you president when the 2025 price range acquired accredited?”
Philippines tariff exemptions. On Nov. 18, the Philippines introduced it had secured exemptions to the USA’ 19 % tariff for a variety of agricultural merchandise together with coconuts, tropical fruits, and frozen tuna.
The Philippines already had exemptions on different agricultural merchandise like espresso, cacao, and beef. The estimated worth of those exemptions totals $1 billion, in line with the Philippine Division of Commerce.
Underneath the radar, the Philippines has additionally benefited from exemptions value an estimated $5.8 billion on industrial items—together with semiconductors.
This implies about half of Philippine exports to the U.S. are tariff-free.
The Philippine authorities is taking this as vindication of its beforehand criticized administration of the tariff concern.
Nonetheless, because the world has realized, loads could be hid below the headline tariff.
Filipino negotiators at the moment are aiming for additional exemptions for clothes and furnishings.
Thaksin on the ropes. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, already serving a one-year jail time period for corruption, has confronted additional authorized setbacks.
On Nov. 17, courts dominated towards the previous prime minister in a tax case, ordering him to pay 17.6 billion baht ($543 million) in again taxes and fines.
There’s additionally a push by the federal government to enchantment the lèse-majesté case that Shinawatra gained in August.
With elections due quickly, this appears like a concerted effort to knock out the facility of the Shinawatra dynasty and its social gathering, Pheu Thai.
Nonetheless, Shinawatra’s household has been campaigning for his launch on parole.
Each circumstances are politically contentious.
Claims of corruption and impropriety in relation to the tax case shaped an necessary a part of the run-up to the 2006 coup that compelled Thaksin from energy.
And lèse-majesté circumstances have lengthy been criticized as instruments to punish critics of Thailand’s conservative elite.
Malaysia social media ban. Malaysia will ban people below the age of 16 from signing up for social media beginning in 2026, the federal government introduced on Nov. 23.
The federal government had beforehand deliberate to solely ban kids below 13 however has determined to broaden the scope.
The regulation would require social media corporations to implement identification verification to implement the age requirement. A complete record of platforms affected has but to be launched.
The federal government has argued the ban is critical for youngster security to guard underage individuals from cyberbullying, monetary scams, and youngster sexual abuse.
A current wave of public concern about bullying and violence in colleges could have strengthened the push.
An unstated concern might also be irritation at Malaysian youngsters more and more talking Indonesian-inflected Malay. The 2 languages are very shut, and lots of Malaysians eat content material from their neighbor.
The area is main the cost on this entrance.
In Australia, social media platforms will deactivate the accounts of registered customers below the age of 16 subsequent month. As the primary nation on the earth to implement such a regulation, it’s being watched by different governments.
Indonesia can be mulling age necessities for social media.
Vietnam floods once more. Not less than 90 individuals have died and 12 are lacking in Vietnam within the newest wave of floods, which broken 186,000 houses.
Vietnam has been repeatedly battered by excessive climate this yr. The federal government estimates pure disasters have inflicted $2 billion in harm between January and October 2025.
An aerial image reveals a pyroclastic move throughout the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java, on November 19, 2025. (Picture by Agus Harianto / AFP)Agus Harianto/AFP through Getty Photos
FP’s Most Learn This Week
Burhanuddin Muhtadi, one in every of Indonesia’s main pollsters, examines how President Prabowo Subianto noticed his recognition rebound following mass protests, and whether or not this may final, in Fulcrum.
Southeast Asia’s dependence on coal has grown over the past decade, and Sudarshan Varadhan in Reuters examines why.
In Focus: After Tariffs, Divergent Economies
Southeast Asia appears to be splitting in two instructions, with some economies shrugging off tariffs whereas others wrestle.
With third-quarter development now printed for the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN’s) six largest economies, a divide could be noticed between these within the former camp—Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam—and Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines within the latter.
At a headline year-on-year stage, all six look to be doing OK.
However take a look at development quarter by quarter (aside from Vietnam, which doesn’t publish this info), and a distinct image emerges.
The Philippines and Indonesia have seen development sluggish sharply, and Thailand slowed down too.
What’s inflicting this?
These doing effectively have good all-around performances with better-than-expected exports and home consumption. As for the others, they’re all affected by weak home consumption.
There are additionally idiosyncratic components. Thailand, for instance, has seen a slowdown in exports and tourism.
What’s attention-grabbing is that publicity to U.S. tariffs isn’t a figuring out issue, opposite to what many may need anticipated.
Vietnam, for whom the U.S. accounted for 28 % of its exports in 2023—the very best of the six international locations—is the very best performer. This, regardless of having a tariff price of 20 %, a share level greater than the 19 % loved by most different ASEAN nations.
To make a broad prognosis, political components are necessary.
Thailand has seen a conflict and a primary minister toppled. Indonesia has scared traders with an unpredictable fiscal coverage. Within the Philippines, the massive ongoing corruption scandal has been blamed for denting confidence.
The opposite three, nonetheless, supply traders a friendlier and extra predictable environment.
Vietnam could also be an exception, with Communist Celebration Basic Secretary To Lam aggressively reorganizing and consolidating energy. For now, although, traders are calculating this regime works out in their favor.
