Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-05-19 Origin: Site
Recently, the tariff war between China and the United States has cooled down, but geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts continue to impact the global order. In order to cope with the new international landscape in the future, the ASEAN Leaders' Summit will be held later this month, focusing on how to resolve the Myanmar crisis and respond to US tariffs. Analysis suggests that ASEAN aims to continue promoting economic integration in the context of global economic challenges, but the effectiveness remains to be seen.
Thai media (The Prachachat) recently quoted Nikkei Asia as saying that the US government has announced that it is considering funding aid for Cambodia to build Techo Takhmao International Airport. After completion, this $1.5 billion airport will replace the existing Phnom Penh airport.
This measure comes during the trade war, when the United States imposed a 49% tariff on Cambodia, making it the ASEAN country with the highest tariff. The comment stated that although the United States has almost suspended financial aid to Cambodia, in order to curb China's influence in Cambodia, the United States is considering making a new attempt to assist Cambodia.
Earlier, Beijing funded the upgrade project of the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, where Chinese warships have been rotating since the second half of 2022. The United States is concerned that this move will allow the Chinese military to enter the region. The Cambodian side has repeatedly denied reaching secret agreements with China and stated that Cambodia is open to warships from various countries. The Japanese warship, an ally of the United States, had previously docked at this harbor.
According to Phnom Penh media, Cambodia and China are conducting the largest ever joint military exercise along the Gulf of Thailand coast. The theme of this joint military exercise, named "Golden Dragon 2025" between Cambodia and China, is "Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation". It sets two directions for sea and air, and conducts "Joint Counter Terrorism and Humanitarian Rescue Operations" exercises separately. The exercise will end on May 28th. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) stated that the purpose of this military exercise is to deepen cooperation between the two armies. It is reported that the first Golden Dragon joint exercise between China and Cambodia was held in 2016. Cambodia cancelled the joint military exercise "Angkor Sentinel" with the US military, which had been ongoing for 7 years, the following year (2017).
Thai media predict that such joint military exercises may be held more frequently in the future. This is not only related to the navy, but also includes the army and air force. Chinese official media said that the military exercises between China and Cambodia are conducive to maintaining the security situation in the South China Sea.
China has long had territorial disputes with several Southeast Asian member countries around the South China Sea. In recent years, the relationship between China and the Philippines has been particularly tense. Both sides have had multiple frictions and conflicts in the relevant waters. Recently, Manila media revealed that the Philippines has established security cooperation relationships with multiple countries. On Wednesday (May 14th), the Philippine Secretary of Defense signed a defense cooperation agreement with Germany to expand cooperation in military fields such as cybersecurity, defense equipment, and logistics. Previously, the Philippines had signed similar agreements with the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. In the future, Canada is also planned to be included in the scope of military cooperation.
A few days ago, Pakistan, a South Asian country, achieved air superiority in an air battle with India using Chinese military equipment. The outside world was shocked and evaluated that China's technology and military strength were significantly increasing. In this military exercise with Southeast Asian countries, China dispatched advanced air force helicopters and radar units to Cambodia. In addition, two warships are scheduled to be delivered to Cambodia. Chinese media refers to the China Cambodia relationship as a 'strong friendship'. Southeast Asian analysts believe that in addition to showcasing its military strength, China also aims to build the confidence of its allies.
As is well known, there has been a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, with both sides' armies constantly rubbing against each other in the disputed area. Recently, there have been rumors in Thailand that Beijing plans to donate a submarine that has been put on hold by Thailand to Cambodia. Once the submarine is owned by Cambodia, it will cause huge losses to Thailand's submarine project worth over 7 billion Thai baht. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Phumtham Wechayachai was not aware of this news in an interview recently.
Previously, the Thai military's military procurement of submarines from China was strongly protested by opposition groups in parliament and civilians, and the news of "quality problems with Chinese submarines" was once widely circulated. The Thai military then decided to purchase engines from Germany on their own. However, recently, the Thai Defense Minister confirmed that the German government has refused to sell submarine engines to Thailand through a letter, citing Germany's membership in NATO. NATO has a clear agreement prohibiting the sale of weapons and equipment to China. When asked by reporters if they were worried that canceling the submarine procurement project would affect relations with China? The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand clarified that he had had contact with the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand regarding this matter, and the Chinese side expressed "respect for the wishes of the Thai side" without mentioning any transfer. Thailand is just a small country, "Putan emphasized the need to balance China US relations in handling international relations. As a latecomer government that took over halfway, it must be acknowledged that this matter is tricky because the most cautious and comprehensive solution must be found.
Thai media reports: Thai Prime Minister Paedongtarn Shinawatra will visit Vietnam on the 15th of this month. This is the first visit by a Thai Prime Minister to Vietnam in 11 years. Thailand and Vietnam have upgraded their comprehensive strategic partnership since the 16th of this month. Both sides agree to further deepen cooperation in the fields of politics, national defense, security, and technology, including jointly combating online fraud and drug trafficking.
Thailand and Vietnam established diplomatic relations in August 1976, upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2013, and will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their establishment in 2026. Thailand is Vietnam's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Both sides are committed to increasing bilateral trade volume to $25 billion annually by 2030.
Vietnamese media reported that Thailand has become Vietnam's 13th comprehensive strategic partner after Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, and Vietnam maintains comprehensive strategic partnerships with four countries in ASEAN. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that Vietnam and Thailand have unanimously agreed to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership action plan for the period from 2025 to 2030, which includes further deepening cooperation in the political, defense, and security fields, and maintaining a peaceful, secure, and stable environment between the two countries. This is the development direction determined after the upgrading of bilateral relations between Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam and Thailand also reiterated their commitment not to allow any country to use each other's territory to attack each other.
Jirayu Huangtrakul, spokesperson for the Thai Prime Minister's Office, revealed that at the invitation of the Thai Prime Minister, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will visit Thailand tomorrow (May 19) to discuss issues such as trade, security, combating transnational crime, regional economy, and establishing a halal working group to coordinate halal food standards between the two countries. Local media reported that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Indonesia, and the Indonesian president has made his first official visit to Thailand in 20 years. Both sides plan to upgrade their bilateral strategic partnership.
Currently, Malaysia is preparing to host the 46th ASEAN Summit, and Southeast Asian leaders will gather in Kuala Lumpur on May 26th and 27th. Kuala Lumpur News: This year's ASEAN summit will focus on discussing the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and the regional economic challenges brought about by US tariff policies. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously had phone conversations with leaders from multiple countries to discuss tariff issues and proposed consultations on regional economic and political realities. After the cooling down of the US China tariff war, ASEAN countries have not yet formed a unified position and attitude towards initiating tariff negotiations with Washington.
Since the military seized elected government power and sparked civil war in Myanmar in 2021, there has been no progress in ASEAN's multi-party intervention. Aung Zaw, founder of the Myanmar based Irrawaddy news agency, analyzed that China is putting pressure on Myanmar to quickly quell the political turmoil. Because we do not want any fighting to occur on the China Myanmar border and do not allow any military actions to be taken along the Chinese oil and gas pipelines. As anti China sentiment continues to grow in Myanmar, it is believed that the Chinese government will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests in Myanmar. Myanmar's military government leader Min Aung Hlaing recently endorsed China's vision of building a community with a shared future in the surrounding areas and expressed willingness to work together with China to tackle common challenges.
Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Russia on Wednesday (May 14th) for a four-day official visit. During this period, Russian airlines were invited to open direct flights from Moscow to Kuala Lumpur and consider importing liquid natural gas from Russia. Russia and Malaysia established diplomatic relations in 1967. Russia looks forward to expanding its relationship with ASEAN, while Malaysia promises to play a bridging role and assist Russia in developing stable economic and trade relations with this integrated organization. Malaysia officially became a partner country of the BRICS in January this year. Malaysia and Russia currently have over 20 cooperation agreements covering trade and investment, digital technology, energy transformation, food technology, nuclear energy, and military fields.
Malaysia serves as the ASEAN Chair for the year 2025, with the theme of this year's ASEAN summit being "Inclusion and Sustainability". Another important meeting, the ASEAN Dialogue Partners Summit, is scheduled to take place at the end of October this year, and all parties are also concerned about how cooperation between Russia and ASEAN will progress.
