Krung Desk
Krung Desk publishes evidence-focused reporting and analysis for KRUNG.
Krung Desk publishes evidence-focused reporting and analysis for KRUNG.
Reporting by Krung Desk
The Thailand-Cambodia border is quiet — but the underlying tensions are anything but resolved
A fragile ceasefire has held since December, but landmine disputes, mutual accusations, and rearming on both sides keep the risk of renewed conflict alive.
Thailand's ฿224 billion dream train has gone nowhere in eight years — and time is running out
The high-speed rail linking Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, and U-Tapao airports has survived seven governments and counting. It may not survive the eighth.
Chadchart won a second term as Bangkok governor — what the result showed
The Election Commission certified Chadchart Sittipunt's re-election after the June 28 vote. Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasook, not the People's Party candidate, finished second.
The Thai-Cambodian sea dispute is suddenly about energy security
A long-frozen maritime boundary fight is back in motion because gas, arbitration, and post-clash politics now point in the same direction.
Thailand is tightening tourist stays while chasing a softer economy
A planned cut to visa-free stays lands as tourism numbers, household debt, and geopolitical shocks weigh on growth.
One arrest shows how Cambodia scam networks still move across borders
A Singaporean suspect was handed over after an arrest in Malaysia, highlighting the regional plumbing behind online fraud.
Johor's data-center boom is running into the grid
Malaysia's hottest digital-infrastructure cluster now has to prove that cheap land and proximity to Singapore are not enough.
ASEAN's energy transition is becoming an economic necessity
Rising electricity demand, data centers, EVs, and fuel uncertainty are making the grid a growth constraint.
AI data centers are putting nuclear power back on Southeast Asia's table
Countries that never generated nuclear electricity are reconsidering old plans because AI demand has changed the energy math.
The next El Nino risk is not just drought, it is whiplash
Experts warn Southeast Asia could face drought-like conditions, flash floods, crop stress, and haze in the same cycle.
Philippine rice is where climate and fuel prices meet
El Nino, fertilizer costs, and fuel volatility are converging on a food-security issue that deserves more attention.
Rare earth runoff is becoming a Mekong food-security story
Mining upstream in Myanmar and Laos is raising alarms for rivers that feed farms, fisheries, and downstream economies.
Indonesia's nickel cuts are a quiet shock to the EV supply chain
Lower ore quotas and smelter production cuts show how one country can move battery and stainless-steel markets.
Nickel batteries are losing some shine as Indonesia costs rise
Higher costs for battery-grade nickel feedstock could accelerate chemistry shifts in the EV market.
The Philippines and Vietnam are turning South China Sea pressure into partnership
Manila and Hanoi upgraded ties while calling peace and stability in the contested waterway non-negotiable.
A new coast guard base puts Thitu Island back in the spotlight
The Philippines opened a base in the disputed South China Sea, turning a remote island into a sharper sovereignty signal.
The Laos-China railway is becoming more than a debt story
Record trade and rising tourism are changing how the rail corridor is discussed across mainland Southeast Asia.
Ho Chi Minh City's transit upgrade is really a payment story
Contactless metro and bus payments are turning public transport into a test of Vietnam's urban digital rails.
Bangkok's MRT is nudging riders into a contactless future
The shift away from older travel cards shows how everyday transit is becoming part of Thailand's digital-payment stack.
Thailand's digital wallet story is moving toward verifiable credentials
A production rollout for document wallets and credentials points to a less flashy but more consequential digital-government layer.
ASEAN's Myanmar election stance is a recognition fight
The bloc's refusal to endorse military-backed polls keeps Myanmar's crisis at the center of regional diplomacy.
Cambodia's first online-scam law is arriving late, but not quietly
The draft law targets scam centers after years of international pressure over forced labor and transnational fraud.
Southeast Asia's green economy is being measured by delivery now
The region still has capital waiting, but investors are watching energy security, policy execution, and grid readiness more closely.
Southeast Asians are worried about scams almost as much as geopolitics
A regional survey puts global scam operations near the top of public concern, alongside U.S. leadership and climate.
Singapore is making scam punishment visibly harsher
Mandatory caning for some scammers shows how fraud has moved from nuisance crime to national priority.
A Gulf energy shock is exposing Southeast Asia's fossil-fuel dependence
Disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz are making imported-energy vulnerability harder for the region to ignore.
Thaksin's pardon keeps Thailand's old political fault line alive
The former prime minister was released under a royal pardon on June 9. The event was not just personal; it reopened questions about power, memory, and stability.