It has become clear that the Thailand-Cambodia maritime demarcation dispute will be subject to an international mechanism as Cambodia has recently invoked UN-backed compulsory conciliation in response to Thailand’s unilateral cancellation of a 25-year-old maritime MoU. Here’s all you need to know about the long-standing maritime dispute and the compulsory conciliation process.

The decision to terminate the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU 2001) by the Thai Cabinet on 5 May 2026 signals a transformative shift toward militarized unilateralism in Southeast Asia, while rising nationalism has stalled military reform in Thailand.

Thailand has resolved to unilaterally cancel the 2001 maritime MoU with Cambodia, moving forward with international mechanisms to address the maritime disputes. Cambodia swiftly responded, reaffirming its commitment to pursue “compulsory conciliation” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The National Security Council of Thailand (NSC) has backed the unilateral cancellation of the bilateral maritime MoU with Cambodia. Thailand will instead negotiate with its counterpart through other mechanisms to settle long-standing Thai-Cambodian maritime disputes.

As Cambodia repeatedly presses for border talks, its renewed push to convene the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) has exposed growing unease within Thailand, which insists that internal processes are prerequisites.

In foreign policy during his second term, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has vowed to secure the country's borders by building a border wall, and addressing border issues with the neighbouring countries, according to the government’s policy statement.

16 media organizations and civil society organizations have issued a joint statement demanding that the Cambodian government release and drop charges against two journalists, Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara, who were sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence.

The Thai Navy has seized a Cambodian fishing boat and arrested its crew after they were allegedly found to have entered Thai waters illegally, prompting a protest from Cambodia that the act, in an area that Cambodia claimed as its territory, was illegitimate. The maritime boundary is one of the simmering tensions on the Thai-Cambodian land border.

42 Thai soldiers died during the two waves of border conflict in June and December 2025. The dead were all non-commissioned officers, the highest rank among them being staff sergeant. Their families were paid twelve million baht in compensation. If sovereignty is “priceless", why is the compensation assigned to those who die in its defence so low?

When cross-border fighting erupted between Thailand and Cambodia in late July, Many Cambodians returned home due to concerns over anti- Cambodian sentiment, which was sweeping through Thailand. However, this was not the case for Cambodian Muslims living and studying in Thailand's Deep South. With shared culture and faith, they found safety from the rising nationalist sentiment.

2025 has been an eventful year in Thailand: a year of changes political watershed moments, from new laws coming into effect to a border war. Here we look back at the year through the lens of our photographers.

Following the armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, online platforms have emerged as a new battleground for Thais. This new phenomenon is now significantly shaping public sentiment towards the war and the neighbouring country, with the traditional institution, the military, sometimes orchestrating activities behind the curtain.