Country

Thailand

1. Thailand plans 99.5 million cubic metre reservoir in Chanthaburi for industry that would flood forest and wild elephant habitat

   Thailand plans to build the Khlong Wang Tanot reservoir in eastern Chanthaburi province, about a four-hour drive south-east of Bangkok, with a capacity of 99.5 million cubic metres to supply industrial water demand along the fast-growing eastern seaboard. CNA reported that the reservoir would flood thousands of hectares of forest, wildlife habitat and land used by rural communities, in an area with wild elephants and rubber plantations where novice monks also live on land that could be submerged. The project was first proposed decades ago; tension between water needs and protecting forests, elephants and communities is now intensifying.

   Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon
2. Thailand and Cambodia agree to navy hotline to calm dispute over $300 billion Gulf of Thailand seabed

   The South China Morning Post reported that, under a UN-backed mediation panel in The Hague, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to tone down rhetoric and activate a hotline between their navy chiefs to avoid clashes in disputed waters of the Gulf of Thailand, where seabed oil and gas reserves are valued at about $300 billion. The two countries also dispute an 800 km land border; border fighting last year killed dozens on both sides and froze billions of dollars in border trade, and a ceasefire reached in December has largely held.

   Oct 21, 2026 Morning