Southeast Asia Insights

Tensions erupted along the Thai-Cambodia border on December 8 as Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian positions, reigniting a long-running dispute that had seemed to temporarily calm. Both sides blame each other for the new violence, which comes just two months after a high-profile peace deal overseen by former US President Donald Trump. Who Is At Fault? Thailand said its airstrikes targeted Cambodian military posts in response to an atta...

Southeast Asia is home to 11 countries and nearly 700 million people. It is a region rich in culture, language, and politics, and also one that plays a key role in the global economy.   With tensions growing between China and the United States, Southeast Asia is stuck in the middle. Can it find a way to stay united?   What is ASEAN?   The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created in 1967 to help countries...

Across Southeast Asia, thousands of people have been trapped in high-tech scam compounds that target victims worldwide. Globally, scams cost over $1 trillion in 2024 alone.   These operations, often run by criminal networks with ties across borders, have left families desperate and governments racing to respond. The region is now under international pressure to act decisively.   No Single Story Behind the Returns On November 12, 34...

With the flood control scandal still unfolding, concerns are mounting over the billions of pesos quietly added to the 2025 and 2026 draft budgets. Watchdogs say Filipinos remain in the dark about who pushed for these additional infrastructure projects and why they were included without public review, fueling growing suspicion.   Who Is Behind the Added Projects? Lawmakers and analysts say the draft 2025 budget carried around 721 billion p...

After years of legal drama, the $15 billion Sulu arbitration is expected to come to a close in the Paris Court of Appeal on December 9. Eight Filipino claimants claiming to be descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu have taken their case against Malaysia from London to Madrid, Sabah, Luxembourg, The Hague, and Washington. Every court has rejected the claim, and Spanish courts even convicted arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa to jail for defying repeated orde...