Thailand News & Analysis

Examining the latest developments in the US-Israel Iran war; how President Trump’s latest attacks on NATO allies are producing a new response; and mounting global economic fallout from supply chain disruptions in the Persian Gulf.

Settling disputes intra-regionally and respecting sovereignty have long stood as the fundamental norms of ASEAN. Phnom Penh has undermined both of them in its ongoing border conflict with Thailand.

While Europe remains preoccupied with itself, a geopolitical buildup is taking shape in the Indo-Pacific that has long ceased to be mere war-gaming. The third act of the world order won't premiere in Brussels—but in Chumphon, Ranong, Subic Bay, Guam, and most importantly: Bangkok.

Bangkok must now decide on a debate that’s as old as the Thai state – embark on the Kra Canal megaproject or construct a land bridge between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. The result will resonate not just across Thai society, but global geopolitics.

This week we examine the growing backlog in US weapon deliveries to Taiwan, the long-term prospects of a recent ceasefire in the Thai-Cambodia border war, and President Trump’s Christmas Day strikes on Islamic State camps in Nigeria.

Thailand represents the microcosm of a global shift: a tectonic revolution in Southeast Asia's center. Anyone seeking to understand why the West has lost influence in the region need only look here.

This week we examine the expanding quantity and range of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian shadow fleet tankers, a US ‘declaration of vengeance’ against ISIS in Syria, and how the Thai-Cambodia conflict reflects a global system in flux.

Opportunities for ASEAN countries to capture semiconductor back-end, EV battery manufacturing, and higher-value electronics are real. Malaysia’s move into advanced packaging, Indonesia’s downstream battery strategy and Thailand’s EV pivot in particular are promising. But they are also fragile.

This week we cover escalating tensions between Japan and China, a timely intervention by President Trump to rescue the Thai-Cambodia peace process, Prime Minister Carney’s latest recommendations for Canada’s major projects drive, and the latest signs of a state capitalist renaissance in the West.

This week we cover how sovereignty concerns are derailing Israel-Syria normalization talks; a proposed referendum that could destabilize the Thai-Cambodia border; new Gen-Z protests in Peru; and a geopolitically consequential election in Moldova.

Recent tensions at the Thailand-Cambodia border serve as a clear warning: the old methods of bilateral talks and empty promises are failing. ASEAN’s core principles—justice, the rule of law, and peaceful dispute resolution—must be supported by practical, enforceable measures.

Recent outbreaks of violence are the natural result of historical territorial disputes, military imbalances, nationalist sentiment, and China’s strategic backing of Cambodia, which together are making the Thailand-Cambodia border one of Southeast Asia’s most volatile geopolitical flashpoints.

Exploring the historical background and key developments in a long-simmering Thailand-Cambodia border dispute that is now pushing the two ASEAN neighbors to the brink of military conflict.

This week we cover the US military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities; a new economic deal between Russia and the Myanmar junta; and a new wave of political instability in Thailand.

The idea of the Kra Canal – a bypass for the Strait of Malacca – dates all the way back to 1677. But though the technical hurdles have eased since then, fiscal and geopolitical ones have emerged to take their place.