Thailand-Cambodia Border Tensions News & Analysis

Thai-Cambodian Maritime Dispute: From MOU 2001 to UNCLOS Conciliation

cc Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul laugh while switching name plates after signing the Kuala Lumpur Accord alongside President Donald Trump, Sunday, October 25, 2025, at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok), modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cambodian_Prime_Minister_Hun_Manet_and_Thailand%E2%80%99s_Prime_Minister_Anutin_Charnvirakul_laugh_while_switching_name_plates_after_signing_the_Kuala_Lumpur_Accord_(54883875700).jpg

The institutional framework governing the Thai-Cambodian maritime dispute collapsed with Bangkok’s recent withdrawal from MOU 44. Here’s what the new process might look like.

Cebu Summit Thaw? Thailand and Cambodia Meet with 2001 MOU in the Balance

cc Philippines Presidential Office, modified, Acting Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez underscored Tuesday the important role of the media in informing Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) nationals of how Southeast Asia is responding to the various challenges members of the regional bloc are facing as a result of the tension in the Middle East. / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2026-05-05_%E2%80%93_Communications_chief_highlights_media%E2%80%99s_role_as_the_ASEAN_Int%E2%80%99l_Media_Center_opens_in_Cebu.jpg

Calls to revoke a 2001 MOU delineating shared borders risk a severe breach in Cambodia–Thailand relations. The ASEAN Cebu summit can help get bilateral relations back on track.

Cambodia Undermines ASEAN Centrality in 2025 Border Conflict

ASEAN Flag, Generated by Google Gemini AI on January 29 2026. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

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.

Geopolitics Weekly (Taiwan Weapons, Thai-Cambodia Ceasefire, Nigeria ISIS Strikes)

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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.

Geopolitics Weekly (Ukraine Shadow Fleet, ISIS Strikes, Thai-Cambodia Conflict)

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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.

Geopolitics Weekly (Thai-Cambodia Conflict, Venezuela Oil Tanker, Ukraine NATO)

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This week we examine a resumption of hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia, interdictions at sea by the US military in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, a tentative recovery in Canadian exports, and Ukraine dropping its longstanding aspiration for NATO membership to move peace talks ahead.

Geopolitics Weekly (Japan-China Tensions, Thai-Cambodia Border, Canada Major Projects)

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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.

Geopolitics Weekly (Israel-Syria Talks, Thai Referendum, Moldova Vote)

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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.

ASEAN’s Watershed Moment on the Thai-Cambodian Frontier

An AI representation of Preah Vihear and ASEAN logo; not an accurate reflection. Generated by Google Gemini on July 29, 2025.

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.

Thailand-Cambodia Border Conflict: What’s Behind the Clashes

Royal Thai Army soldiers loading into their M1126 Stryker during Hanuman Guardian 2025 (HG25) at the Special Warfare School, Lop Buri, Thailand, March 14, 2025., modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Thai_Army_stryker_training_(8932790).jpg

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.

Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute: Faultlines of Nationalism

Accompanied President @prabowo at the 1st Leaders' Consultation with PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra @ingshin during the Official Visit to Thailand / cc modified, Indonesia Office of Prime Minister , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Leaders%27_consulation_with_PM_Paetongtarn_Shinawatra_-_2025_-_02.jpg

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.

Cambodia Signs High Seas Treaty: Small Coastline, Big Message

cc Dmitry Makeev, modified, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cambodia_-_fishing_boat.jpg

Cambodia’s signing of the High Seas Treaty sends a strong message that ocean conservation is not the exclusive domain of coastal giants.

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