The sudden military escalation between two ASEAN members, Thailand and Cambodia, has jolted the Indo-Pacific, a region that’s already on edge amid the Great Power contestation between the United States and China.
The timing couldn’t be more telling. Global military budgets are rising amid geopolitical strains, and Southeast Asia is no exception. Even as ASEAN countries pursue deeper economic integration—modelling aspects of the European Union—defence spending has surged across the bloc. This, even though ASEAN is far from unified in its political, economic, or military postures.
Thailand-Cambodia border clash — a new, unfamiliar and non linear Cold War 2.0
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