The Philippines on March 27 announced the US military has cancelled the large-scale joint exercise dubbed as "Balikatan" between the two countries this year due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupted on March 27, spewing a column of ash of up to 5km high, forcing local authorities to issue a flight warning.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin on March 27 announced an economic stimulus package worth 250 billion RM (57.5 billion USD) to deal with negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of Indonesian airlines have fired their employees ranging from pilots, flight attendants, technicians to other supporting crew amid difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according the Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA).

People in Thailand are strongly urged to stay home and stop social activities for seven days, starting this weekend, as the government steps up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand Gen Pornpipat Benyasri.

Eighty percent of Japanese firms operating in Thailand are suffering from falling sales and other adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey.

Thailand banned the export of chicken eggs for seven days to ensure sufficient supply in the domestic market, starting from March 26.

Banks of the Republic of Korea (RoK) have strengthened their foothold in Southeast Asia by opening more branches in the rapidly-growing market, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said.

The Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on March 26 admitted that the country’s economy is looking headed for its first full-year recession in about two decades as the COVID-19 pandemic is causing negative impact on the global scale.

Thailand’s economy is projected to reduce by 5.3 percent in 2020 due to impact of the COVID-19, said the Bank of Thailand (BoT) on March 25.

The Royal Thai Armed Forces Command has set up 357 checkpoints nationwide to check inter-provincial travellers as an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on March 25 that all international meetings in Cambodia are cancelled and all Cambodian officials must stop attending overseas meetings or conferences, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ​

Spokesperson of the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training Heng Sour said over 50 factories have filed for work suspension, affecting nearly 30,000 workers, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on March 25 said that Thailand will be under an emergency decree from March 26 until the end of April to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.