Cambodia

Thailand

Military & Security

Politics

Cambodia and Thailand agreed to deploy observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to inspect their shared border and monitor the terms of their July 29 ceasefire, Reuters reported on Aug. 7.

Thailand, Cambodia: ASEAN Observers To Monitor Border Ceasefire

United States

Malaysia

Economics

The United States will impose a 19% tariff rate on Malaysia (down from the threatened 25%), Thailand and Cambodia (both down from 36%) on Aug. 7, Channel News Asia reported on Aug. 1.

Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia: Countries All Receive 19% U.S. Tariff Rate

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

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

Indonesia

Vietnam

Facing a 36% U.S. tariff threat, Thailand proposed eliminating tariffs and nontariff barriers on 90% of U.S. goods -- up from 60% -- in a last-ditch bid to reach a deal before U.S. President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline, Bloomberg reported on July 17.

Thailand, U.S.: Following Other Deals, Bangkok Races To Beat Tariff Clock

Canada

Australia

China

Fiji

Japan

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Singapore

South Korea

Tonga

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Norway

Netherlands

India

Australia launched U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the 2025 Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest iteration of the biennial multinational drills to date, AP reported on July 14.

Australia: HIMARS Fired Amid Largest-Ever Military Drills

Brunei Darussalam

Laos

Myanmar

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

Assessments

Poland

Ukraine

Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office of the White House on July 22, 2025. 

Global Trade

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: Last-Minute U.S. Trade Talks, a New Polish President

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (center) speaks during a press conference next to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (left) and Thailand's acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai (right) in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on July 28, 2025. 

While the truce may hold in the short to medium term, unresolved disputes and political pressures sustain the risk of future clashes, with the next round likely to be even deadlier.

Gauging the Stability of the Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire

Mexico

Taiwan

Europe

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

U.S.-China Relations

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

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

Energy

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

Former Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addresses the media after the Thai Constitutional Court removed him from office Aug. 14 in Bangkok.

The removal of the Thai prime minister represents the military establishment's latest attempt to impose its influence on the government, which in the coming months and years will continue to constrain Thailand's economic growth while stoking social unrest.

The Thai Military Establishment Replaces Another Prime Minister

Located in Southeast Asia, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The core of modern Thailand lies on the flat, rich lowlands in the central Chao Phraya River basin. This basin is one of the world's most fertile agricultural areas, growing mostly rice and fruits. As a result, it became a political and economic center, where Bangkok, the country's capital, was founded.    Thailand’s strategic location between Indochina and the Andaman and South China seas, along with its agricultural resources, has historically made it a target of foreign invasion. Therefore, Thailand’s main geographic challenge is protecting its core from invaders while consolidating power in its diverse outlying regions.    Protected in the north by mountains and the Khorat Plateau, Thailand’s biggest external threats have come through the Tenasserim mountain range from Myanmar or from Cambodia to the east. But Thailand’s central location also helped prevent its colonization, as the French and British used it as a buffer between each other's empires.    Thailand’s geography has also presented internal challenges. In the northwest, mountainous terrain has prevented the area from being easily controlled, fostering political struggles in modern times between these provinces and Bangkok. Annexed in the early 20th century, southern Thailand has an ethnically Malay, Muslim majority and continues to resist Bangkok through low-level insurgency and violence. Although Thailand's size, location and arable land allow it to exert influence regionally, its unwieldy periphery and occasionally hostile neighbors will continue to present it with challenges.

SITUATION REPORTS

Thailand, Cambodia: ASEAN Observers To Monitor Border Ceasefire

Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia: Countries All Receive 19% U.S. Tariff Rate

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

Thailand, U.S.: Following Other Deals, Bangkok Races To Beat Tariff Clock

Australia: HIMARS Fired Amid Largest-Ever Military Drills

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

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