Cambodia

Politics

Cambodia's Senate unanimously elected former Prime Minister Hun Sen as the body's president, Nikkei Asia reported on April 3. 

Cambodia: Hun Sen To Reenter Outward Facing Role After Being Elected Senate President

China

Japan

Economics

Military & Security

Two of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers made a port call in Cambodia's city of Sihanoukville on Feb. 22, the Mainichi Shimbun reported the next day. 

Japan, Cambodia: Japanese Destroyers Make Port Call in Sihanoukville

Newly published satellite imagery at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base shows a new pier has been constructed that can host an aircraft carrier, while a dry dock is currently under construction, The Maritime Executive reported on Nov. 15.

Cambodia: Ream Naval Base Adds Pier That Can Accommodate Aircraft Carrier

Brunei Darussalam

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Malaysia

Myanmar

Singapore

Thailand

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Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Rice prices are up more than 40% in Southeast Asia since late 2022 amid India's rice export ban instituted on July 20 and El Nino conditions that are reducing rice output from harvests, BenarNews reported on Sept. 29.

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni swore in Hun Manet as the country's new prime minister, along with the rest of Cambodia's 125-seat National Assembly, The Phnom Penh Post reported on Aug. 22.

Cambodia: New Prime Minister Will Govern Under His Father's Shadow

Laos

Philippines

Kao Kim Hourn, the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the bloc and Japan will elevate ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" before or during a special summit celebrating 50 years of relations in December, Kyodo News reported March 8.

Japan, ASEAN: 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Is Forthcoming

United States

Cyber

U.S.-China Relations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) circulated an alert revealing that Chinese-linked hackers stole 30 GB of data and over 10,000 emails from ASEAN countries and the ASEAN secretariat in February 2022, BenarNews reported March 3.

China, ASEAN: Trove of Stolen Data Revealed Ahead of South China Sea Negotiations

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen signed 12 agreements with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Feb. 11, The Khmer Times reported Feb. 13.

China, Cambodia: Countries Sign 12 Agreements as Phnom Penh Shutters Independent Newspaper

Assessments

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) delivers an opening address at the start of a bilateral meeting with Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (L) at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 16, 2023.

Laos' vulnerabilities will weaken its ASEAN chairmanship, although the bloc's economic interconnectivity will likely continue to grow.

Laos' Limitations Portend a Lukewarm Year for ASEAN

Snapshots

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

Hun Manet, the eldest son of Cambodia's long-ruling prime minister Hun Sen, shows his finger after voting in the country's general election in Phnom Penh on July 23, 2023. 

The victory secures Cambodia's undemocratic slide by paving the way for dynastic rule, which will likely push the country deeper into China's orbit by further isolating it from the West.

Cambodia's Ruling Party 'Wins' Another One-Sided Election

Sub-Saharan Africa

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A vandalized billboard promoting Spain's far-right Vox party with an image of its leader is seen near Madrid on July 19, 2023. 

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

The Weekly Rundown: Spain Holds a High-Stakes Election, African Leaders Visit Russia

A Chinese coast guard ship sails past anchored Philippine fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on Feb. 3, 2023.

A binding code of conduct in the South China Sea remains unlikely, despite the resumption of negotiations between claimant states.

With No Deal in Sight, South China Sea Claimants Continue to Militarize

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Central Asia is reemerging as a key region for trans-Eurasian trade, but not without complications.

Applied Geopolitics: Central Asia's Geopolitical Challenges

Egypt

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Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. Midterm Elections, ASEAN Meets

A man sits inside a casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Feb. 18, 2020.

The intense raid campaign could boost the country's ailing tourism sector and encourage future ASEAN cooperation on issues of shared interest.

The Significance of Cambodia's Crackdown on Human Trafficking

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Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Nov. 14, 2019, in Brasilia, Brazil, on the sidelines of a BRICS summit. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will visit Russia on Feb. 14-17 in an effort to boost relations between the two countries.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Ukraine Conflict

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

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

The Weekly Rundown: An EU-AU Summit, the German Chancellor in Ukraine and Russia

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Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

Rising competition with the West and more programs designed to counter China's BRI will prompt Beijing to expand its intelligence-collection efforts.

China's Cyberespionage Will Remain Robust and Expansive in Southeast Asia

South Korea

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The response to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries surrounding China could vary widely depending on the level of health infrastructure in those nations.

COVID-19

Countries with underdeveloped resources will be more at risk for an undetected outbreak.

Where Limited Health Infrastructure Leaves Coronavirus Vulnerabilities

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People wear masks against a new coronavirus while walking in Macau on Jan. 28, 2020. The quick and aggressive response to the virus should curb its impact on global public health, but the economic losses will be substantial.

The quick and aggressive response to the virus should curb its impact on global public health, but the economic losses will be substantial.

The Global Impact of the Wuhan Coronavirus: 3 Scenarios

Stratfor Threat Lens

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

Cambodia: Hun Sen To Reenter Outward Facing Role After Being Elected Senate President

Japan, Cambodia: Japanese Destroyers Make Port Call in Sihanoukville

Cambodia: Ream Naval Base Adds Pier That Can Accommodate Aircraft Carrier

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Cambodia: New Prime Minister Will Govern Under His Father's Shadow

Japan, ASEAN: 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' Is Forthcoming

China, ASEAN: Trove of Stolen Data Revealed Ahead of South China Sea Negotiations

China, Cambodia: Countries Sign 12 Agreements as Phnom Penh Shutters Independent Newspaper

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