Cambodia

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Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an unconditional ceasefire following Association of Southeast Asian Nations- (ASEAN)-led mediation after five consecutive days of border clashes that killed over 30 people and displaced more than 200,000, according to multiple international, Thai and Cambodian sources.

Thailand, Cambodia: Ceasefire to Take Effect at Midnight Local Time

Malaysia

Thai and Cambodian forces each carried out artillery and rocket fire across at least six disputed border zones, the Bangkok Post reported on July 25, with additional armed drone deployments by Thailand, Defence Security Asia reported separately on July 25. 

Thailand, Cambodia: Fighting Continues, Though a Malaysian Ceasefire Proposal Is on the Table

A landmine near the disputed Chong Bok border area injured three Thai soldiers -- one severely -- with Thailand blaming Cambodia for planting the mines and issuing a formal condemnation, Channel News Asia reported July 20.

Thailand, Cambodia: Landmine Incident Dashes Chances of Deescalation

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China pledged to sign the 1997 Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty "without reservation," according to Malaysia's foreign minister, Reuters reported on July 10. 

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

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Association of Southeast Asian countries are reeling in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's July 7 announcement that six ASEAN countries -- including Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (25%), Thailand (36%), Cambodia (36%), Laos (40%) and Myanmar (40%) -- will face new reciprocal tariffs starting Aug. 1, with separate 40% tariffs targeting goods transshipped through ASEAN countries, Nikkei Asia reported July 8.

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies 

Thailand's Bhumjaithai Party is filing a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, citing her mishandling of a leaked call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, Reuters reported on June 24.

Thailand: No-Confidence Vote Is Impending as Military Seals Border

Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen leaked a June 15 phone call between himself and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in which the latter blamed the Thai military for recent border tensions and appeared deferential to Hun, The Bangkok Post reported on June 18.

Thailand, Cambodia: Leaked Call Drives Mass Demonstrations, Political and Escalation Risks

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The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

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A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck with a rocket launcher in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, which borders Thailand, on July 25, 2025. 

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A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. Tariff Deadline Passes, Thai-Cambodian Border Tensions Persist

A ''Danger'' sign warns visitors about a fragile structure within the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia.

Border clashes will likely persist and could escalate if Cambodia later tries to seize disputed territory, but a full-scale war remains unlikely in the short term.

Deadly Clashes Sharply Escalate Thai-Cambodian Border Dispute

Snapshots

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (center) speaks next to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai (2nd from left) during a press conference in Bangkok following her suspension by the country's Constitutional Court on July 1, 2025. 

Paetongtarn's suspension from office over a leaked phone call with Cambodia's former leader risks collapsing her fragile government and inviting more economic disruption amid U.S. trade tensions.

A Fresh Political Crisis Erupts in Thailand Following Prime Minister's Suspension

The Geopolitics of Trade

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2025. 

U.S.-Iran Relations

The Weekly Rundown: Xi Tours Southeast Asia, Iran-U.S. Nuclear Talks Begin

The Ta Moan Thom temple is seen on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.

While full-scale military conflict is unlikely, the dispute risks spurring localized border clashes, as both Cambodia and Thailand maintain entrenched military positions with no clear legal resolution.

Thai-Cambodian Tensions Flare Over Disputed Temple, Raising Fears of Clashes

Timor-Leste

The flags of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are seen on display.

Malaysia's chairmanship will be pivotal in navigating security risks as well as those from U.S. trade restrictions, potential Chinese economic coercion, and supply chain realignments that threaten ASEAN's cohesion and strategic autonomy.

Previewing Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship

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The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

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Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

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Environment, Science & Technology

The Geopolitics of Water

Science & Technology

Amid pressing energy and geopolitical needs, the accelerating construction of upstream dams will exacerbate the Mekong River region's water shortages and environmental degradation.

The Geopolitics of Water: National Interests Sideline Environmental Concerns in the Mekong River Region

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

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The escalating impacts of climate change and water scarcity will inflame tensions between Central Asian countries, raising the risk of violent state conflict in the coming decades. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Looming Threat of Central Asian 'Water Wars'

Cambodia occupies a transition zone between the western and eastern portions of mainland Southeast Asia and is defined by its weak geopolitical position between Thailand and Vietnam. This vulnerability led to massive instability throughout the 1946 to 1989 Indochina Wars and into the 1990s. In ancient times, the Cambodian Angkor empire controlled much of the Mekong Basin to the north, parts of Thailand, and extend east to the South China Sea. Since the fall of Angkor in the 15th century, however, Cambodia has been gradually eaten away by the expansion of powers to its east and west.     Cambodia's core is the basin of the seasonal Tonle Sap lake and the lowlands where the Mekong River flows toward Vietnam. This region is home to much of Cambodia's population and produces its vital agricultural surplus. It also contains the capital city of Phnom Penh, which is a center for Cambodia's low-end manufacturing sector that accounts for nearly 80 percent of the country's exports.     Having lost the Mekong Delta, modern Cambodia's only coastline is a 440-kilometer (273-mile) strip on the Gulf of Thailand that is largely screened off from the country's interior by the Elephant and Cardamom mountains. Furthermore, Cambodia lacks control of its main river system, the Mekong, which enters the South China Sea through southern Vietnam.     Cambodia's unachievable imperative is to reclaim its lost buffer space and its eastern access to the sea via the Mekong. But its weak geopolitical hand makes modern Cambodia's achievable imperative to protect its lowland core and enlist the help of a foreign patron to guard against its powerful neighbors. However, doing so risks making the country into a client state or causing it to fall prey to a great power's games.

SITUATION REPORTS

Thailand, Cambodia: Ceasefire to Take Effect at Midnight Local Time

Thailand, Cambodia: Fighting Continues, Though a Malaysian Ceasefire Proposal Is on the Table

Thailand, Cambodia: Landmine Incident Dashes Chances of Deescalation

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies

Thailand: No-Confidence Vote Is Impending as Military Seals Border

Thailand, Cambodia: Leaked Call Drives Mass Demonstrations, Political and Escalation Risks

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

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