Thailand’s 2025 Diplomacy: From Cambodia Border Dispute to BRICS, Green Growth

Thailand’s top diplomat believes the country is at a crossroads: either upgrade its foreign-policy game or risk watching its neighbours set the rules. From a simmering land-border dispute to the race for new trade alliances, Bangkok’s agenda for the next 12 months is crowded—and urgent.

Quick glance at the stakes

• Regional profile has slipped while rivals grab the spotlight.

• Border tensions with Cambodia could escalate at a UN forum.

• Trade routes are being rewritten by BRICS, OECD and US-China rivalry.

• Digital and green sectors hang on the ministry’s ability to broker deals.

Where Thailand fits in the shifting Indo-Pacific map

A decade ago the phrase “emerging Southeast Asian power” often referred to Thailand. Today, regional briefings cite Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore far more often. Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow concedes the slide and argues that Bangkok must reclaim ASEAN centrality by practising what he calls “walk-and-talk diplomacy”—fewer photo ops, more deliverables. That means leveraging soft power, from Thai pop culture to medical tourism, while keeping military neutrality between China and the United States. The task is sizable: political turbulence at home has drained diplomatic bandwidth, and international observers still link Thailand with the 2014 and 2020 military coups, a stigma Sihasak wants erased.

Border flashpoint: landmines and liability

The most combustible test of Thailand’s new activism lies along the 798-kilometre frontier with Cambodia. Thai reports indicate eleven soldiers were maimed this year by newly laid anti-personnel mines—an act Bangkok says breaches the Ottawa Convention. When delegates meet in Geneva, Thailand plans to request an International Fact-Finding Mission if Phnom Penh refuses to cooperate. The move is unprecedented for ASEAN neighbours and could either cement Thailand’s stance on humanitarian law or freeze bilateral ties. Cambodia has dismissed the allegation as “baseless,” claiming its own record of clearing mines proves its innocence. Diplomats fear that without a quick off-ramp, the dispute could spill over into trade and labour flows that both economies depend on.

Trade turbulence: hedging bets with BRICS and OECD

Global supply chains are splintering under US tariffs, EU carbon taxes and the tech standoff between Washington and Beijing. Thailand’s answer is to enlarge its circle. It becomes a BRICS partner country on 1 January, hoping to graduate to full membership as early as 2026, while simultaneously racing through the OECD accession roadmap. Supporters argue the twin tracks will give exporters access to new markets, push domestic reforms and lift investor confidence. Skeptics warn of geopolitical cross-fire: siding too closely with BRICS heavyweights Russia or China could irritate Western partners just as Bangkok courts the OECD club of high-income democracies. Sihasak insists the strategy is not double-dipping but “strategic diversification.”

Digital and green engines: turning diplomacy into baht

Foreign-policy credibility will ultimately be judged by jobs and growth. The ministry is now a matchmaker between Thai firms and overseas capital chasing data centres, semiconductors and clean energy. Board of Investment figures show ฿250B committed to digital projects last year alone. On the green front, Thailand has pledged carbon neutrality by 2050 and is pitching itself as ASEAN’s hub for electric vehicles and solar manufacturing. Recent deals—from Finnish-Thai solar panels in Rayong to a Korean-backed smart-city corridor—were brokered with quiet help from the foreign ministry’s economic desks. Officials say similar public-private tie-ups are in the pipeline with Gulf investors eyeing renewables and Japanese funds targeting hydrogen.

The road ahead: unity at home, agility abroad

Sihasak’s biggest challenge may be coordination, not ideology. He wants the defence, commerce and finance ministries to present a single narrative overseas, echoing how Singapore markets itself or how Vietnam courts FDI. Without that, he warns, “investors smell disunity.” Parliament is set to review a bill that would formalise inter-agency task forces for cross-border projects—an attempt to institutionalise the “whole-of-government” method. Whether the legislation passes or not, Thailand’s diplomatic playbook is being rewritten in real time, and the clock is ticking. As one senior official put it, “our neighbours aren’t waiting for us to get our act together.”