Latest news with #SouthEastAsian
Saudi Gazette
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating hours-old ceasefire
BANGKOK — Thailand has accused Cambodia of "deliberately" violating a ceasefire the two countries had agreed on Monday to end border clashes that have killed at least 33 people and displaced thousands. It's a shaky start for the ceasefire, which was meant to bring an end to five days of bombardment and rocket attacks along the shared border. The Thai military says it stopped firing after midnight, but that it continued to receive gunfire from the Cambodian side "at multiple locations" up until this morning. But Cambodia's defence ministry told the AFP news agency there had been "no armed clashes" between the two sides since the ceasefire began at midnight. A meeting between local commanders which was part of the ceasefire agreement has been postponed twice, and may not happen at all. Tensions between the South East Asian countries over their century-old disputed border ramped up in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a escalated into a full-scale conflict last week after five Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion. Thailand closed some of its border crossings, expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own from Phnom the two sides exchanged gunfire early on Thursday, Cambodia fired multiple rockets into Thailand, killing several civilians died on both sides in the following days, and tens of thousands more were evacuated to exchanges of fire between the two armies continued up to midnight on Monday, the deadline for the ceasefire, with Thailand launching more air strikes on Cambodian on Tuesday morning, before Thailand alleged the ceasefire had been violated, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said that the "frontlines have eased" since the agreement, both sides had agreed to pull back their armies and to accept some kind of independent monitoring to prevent further Manet and his Thai counterpart Phumtham Wechayachai had met on Monday in Malaysia in a meeting brokered by its leader Anwar outgunned Cambodia had been pushing for a ceasefire and its leader called it a very good which had initially been reluctant to negotiate, agreed after US President Donald Trump threatened to halt talks over tariffs until Thailand and Cambodia stopped showing reported fighting along the Thai Cambodia borderIn fact, the argument between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of officially became hostile in 2008, when Cambodia tried to register an 11th Century temple located in the disputed area as a Unesco World Heritage Site - a move that was met with heated protest from the years there have been sporadic clashes that have seen soldiers and civilians killed on both latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. This plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in more than a the past two months, both countries have imposed border restrictions on one another. Cambodia banned imports from Thailand such as fruits and vegetables, and stopped importing power and internet countries have also strengthened troop presence along the border in recent weeks. — BBC
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
How Indian airlines are benefiting from Look East Policy
For years, successive governments have had the 'Look East' policy to work with the South East Asian nations and offer a counterbalance to China's influence in the region. In 2014, this 'Look East' was converted to 'Act East' with a focus on economic connections, defence co-operation, and most importantly, people-to-people connect. The people-to-people connect part has greatly benefited the airlines, with the winners being Indian carriers in some cases, while foreign carriers in others. The change has been drastic from pre-COVID times to today and has been fuelled by the need from ASEAN to replace or hedge Chinese tourists, who remained away for a longer period due to restrictions in place by the Chinese government on travel. This meant that tourism-heavy economies like Thailand started offering incentives like free visas for Indians to travel, leading to a spurt in tourist traffic. Overall, the India-ASEAN market has been a mix of new connections, increased services and a growth like no other. Data obtained from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that there has been a giant leap in connectivity, with Indian carriers also benefiting from this. In December 2019, the last full month of operations in the world before COVID started taking its toll, India did not have a connection with Brunei, Laos, the Philippines and Cambodia among the 10 ASEAN nations. Today, Royal Brunei operates a thrice-a-week service to Chennai; Air Cambodia flies twice a week to Delhi; Air India is starting flights to Manila in September while Laos remains the only blank spot right now. Among all the countries and connectivity, the India-Vietnam connectivity has seen a new high. From just 21 flights a week in December 2019, the connectivity has now gone up to 82 weekly flights. However, only 21 out of these are operated by Indian carriers — 14 by IndiGo and seven by Air India. The rest are being operated by the two Vietnamese carriers, Vietnam Airlines and VietJet. Their network in India has spanned to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi and Hyderabad to connect to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, after having tried a few other variations. Overall, the seats went up nearly four times, and frequencies have gone up three times. While the India-Vietnam sector has seen the foreign carriers rule over Indian ones, the story is exactly opposite to Indonesia. By December 2019, all the Indonesian carriers had pulled out of India where multiple variations like non-stop and one-stop flights via Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok had been tried to connect Jakarta and Bali to points in India. On the other side of COVID, IndiGo and Vistara (later Air India) have 21 weekly frequencies to Indonesia, with IndiGo operating a daily flight to Jakarta from Mumbai and to Bali from Bengaluru while Air India operates to Bali from Delhi. The India-Malaysia market has remained more or less the same, with a slight drop. There are 42,124 weekly seats each way across 222 frequencies between India and Malaysia. While IndiGo reduced its presence at Kuala Lumpur, it added flights to Penang and Langkawi from Chennai and Bengaluru respectively, while Air India returned to Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian carriers have shrunk 11 per cent even though they have tried multiple options having maxed out on seats to metros due to bilateral restrictions. The India-Singapore market comprises 57,611 weekly seats across 247 flights this August, a slump of 10 per cent compared to 2019. The Singaporean side has shrunk by 8 per cent since 2019, while the Indian side has remained constant. August also sees seasonal variations to Singapore and often sees drop in capacity by seats or frequencies. The biggest gainer for seats in the market between pre-COVID and today has been Thailand. This also is the biggest market among the three nations by seats on offer. There was an addition of 35 weekly frequencies and a growth of 10 per cent in connectivity between India and Thailand. The connectivity recalibrated with new points being connected, like Surat-Bangkok, Pune-Bangkok, Bhubaneshwar-Bangkok, Bengaluru-Krabi, Kolkata-Phuket, among others. The Indian carriers grew close to 25 per cent in the India-Thailand market, taking a fair share even after the fall of Go Air, while the Thai carriers shrank about 5 per cent. The total seats on offer each week between India and Thailand stands at 71,350. The people connect is driven by affordability and opening up of new connections, making it far easier to visit tourist destinations like Krabi, Phuket, Langkawi, Penang or Bali. The total cost, often a true measure of holiday expenditure, dictates the travel plans and Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand stand out compared to the Maldives, where there was a diplomatic row last year, or European destinations which not only are expensive but also have challenges and lead time issues for visa. The strategic dependence on Indian tourism bodes well for the country as a whole, even when we struggle to attract as many foreigners and the international traffic is dominated by Indians travelling abroad.
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First Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Cambodia seeks immediate ceasefire with Thailand after deadly border clashes
Cambodia's ambassador to the UN, Chhea Keo, has said that the country has sought an 'unconditional' ceasefire with Thailand, adding that Phnom Penh also wanted a 'peaceful solution to the dispute' read more A Cambodian military personnel stands on a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, around 40 km from the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple, after Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery on Friday as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, July 25, 2025. Reuters Cambodia on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire with Thailand, two days after deadly border clashes rocked the two South East Asian neighbours, killing at least 14 Thai people. Cambodia's ambassador to the UN, Chhea Keo, has said that the country has sought an 'unconditional' ceasefire with Thailand, adding that Phnom Penh also wanted a 'peaceful solution to the dispute'. Thailand is yet to respond to Cambodia's ceasefire proposal publicly. Earlier on Friday, the country declared martial law in eight districts bordering Cambodia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Thailand's foreign minister told Reuters that there is no need for third-party mediation for both countries to end their hostilities, as world leaders called for a ceasefire. 138,000 people evacuated in Thailand More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. Fighting resumed in three areas around 4 am on Friday (2100 GMT Thursday), the Thai army said, with Cambodian forces firing heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems, and Thai troops responding 'with appropriate supporting fire.' Thailand launched an airstrike against Cambodia following weeks of squabbling along the border, which culminated in an exchange of fire from both sides. The two sides have blamed each other for increasing hostilities along the border, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of its 'inhumane, brutal and war-hungry' and Phnom Penh slamming Bangkok over 'unprovoked military aggression'. Border dispute reaches UN At the UN, Cambodia's envoy questioned Thailand's assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbour, had initiated the conflict. '(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well,' said Chhea Keo. None of the other attendees of the UNSC meeting spoke to reporters. Meanwhile, Thailand has shut its borders with Cambodia, with the country's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai saying that fighting now included heavy weapons and had spread to 12 locations. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Thailand-Cambodia border: Clashes continue as death toll rises and thousands displaced
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day on Friday, killing at least 15 people and displacing tens of thousands, as world leaders call for a fighting at a disputed border erupted Thursday, marking a dramatic escalation of the dispute between the two South East Asian neighbours that dates back more than a Thailand, clashes in the Ubon Ratchathani and Surin provinces wounded dozens and displaced more than 100,000 civilians. Some 1,500 families in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province have been Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says he has appealed to leaders of both countries for an immediate ceasefire. "I welcome the positive signals and willingness shown by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh to consider this path forward," Anwar, who chairs the Association of South East Asian Nations or Asean, wrote on says 14 civilians and one soldier have been killed so far while Cambodia has not released a casualty US has also called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and a peaceful resolution of the conflict". "We are ... gravely concerned by the escalating violence along the Thailand Cambodia border, and deeply saddened by reports of harm to civilians," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said at a regular media which has political and strategic ties with Cambodia and Thailand, said it is "deeply concerned" over the conflict and hope both sides can resolve issues through dialogue and the European Union and France have also called for peace. The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on Friday over the a letter to the council on Thursday, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet had urged it to intervene to "stop Thailand's aggression".Thailand and Cambodia have accused the other of firing the first shots on Thursday. Thailand claims the clash began with Cambodia's military deploying drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the says Thai soldiers initiated the conflict when they violated a prior agreement by advancing on a Khmer-Hindu temple near the dispute between the two countries dates back to more than a hundred years ago, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of were sporadic clashes over the years which saw soldiers and civilians killed on both latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. This plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in more than a decade.
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- New Indian Express
Ponneri lake to turn tourist destination
CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday announced major renovation works for Ponneri alias Cholagangam lake in Ariyalur district to mark the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola. These works would be carried out at an expenditure of Rs 12 crore. In addition, to promote this lake as a tourist destination, infrastructure upgrades will be done at a cost of Rs 7.25 crore. An official release here said to commemmorate 1,000 years since Rajendra Chola's victorious expedition across South East Asian countries including Kadaram, the CM has made the above announcements. Aadi Thiruvathirai celebrations in honour of Rajendra Chola will commence on Wednesday. Already, to honour the legacy of Rajendra Chola, the state government is establishing a new museum on 10 acres at an outlay of Rs 22.1 crore.
