IINA: Thailand-Cambodia Border Conflict and ASEAN’s Limited Mediation Role

Since May 2025, Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in a cycle of armed clashes along their disputed border that have followed a familiar pattern: military confrontation, a ceasefire agreement, renewed tensions in the border zone, and then another round of fighting. Major escalations occurred in July and December. What began as exchanges of gunfire flared into Thai airstrikes on Cambodian military facilities, while the militarily weaker Cambodia countered with drone attacks. The intensity of the clashes has grown, resulting in more than a hundred deaths—including civilians—and the displacement of roughly 800,000 people. Cross border economic and social activity has come to a halt.

By Tomotaka Shoji, Director, Regional Studies Department National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)

IINA: Australia’s Strategic Importance to Japan’s Energy Policy

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, marked a major turning point in Japan’s energy policy. Since then, nuclear power generation has stalled. Coal and natural gas-fired power plants have played a central role in maintaining a stable electricity supply. Against this backdrop, Australia has provided a stable supply of fuels necessary for Japan’s thermal power generation. At the same time, challenges related to coal development and natural gas exports are emerging in Australia.

By Masahide Takahashi, Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Institute of Japan

SPF China Observer: Developments Surrounding Launch of Taiwan’s Indigenous Sub Hai Kun — Background Behind Commissioning Delay and Its Implications for Taiwan’ Security —

In recent years, the Taiwan Strait has seen increasingly aggressive military activities by China, which regards Taiwan as a target to be “reunified” as part of its own territory.