Since the beginning of the conflict, at least 16,000 workers have come from India to replace the blockades in the West Bank and the Strip. Influx destined to increase thanks to targeted campaigns. In the north, farmers from Thailand are returning, among the migrants who have paid the most in terms of victims and kidnappings. From 165,000 to only 15,000 Palestinians working in Israel.

South Korea has introduced a voluntary repatriation programme for illegal migrants that would avoid expulsion and include a waiver on heavy fines. At the end of 2023, some 423,675 foreigners were staying illegally in the East Asian country out of more than 2.5 million. About 145,000 Thais, who are more than a third of all foreigners staying illegally, could benefit from the measure.

In recent weeks, clashes between Myanmar’s military and ethnic militias have intensified on the Thai border. Faced with renewed violence, Thailand has proposed a series of "informal" meetings to reboot the peace process. But representatives of the armed groups have not been invited, and the agenda is unclear. Divisions also remain within ASEAN over Myanmar’s junta.

The United Nations releases new report on migration in Thailand, five years after the last  taking stock of the situation. Despite its ongoing economic crisis, thousands of people continue to arrive from neighbouring countries. While some progress has been made, working conditions and social assistance for migrants remain a problem. People fleeing Myanmar’s civil war are another major issue.

The Pheu Thai-led government wants to amend the Defence Ministry Administration Act. The “anti-coup" law would restrain the country’s military, which has seized power 12 times in the past, the last time in 2014 by General Prayuth Chan-ocha. Pro-military parties are against the proposed law.

Thailand repatriated the activists a day after detaining them. Once back in Cambodia, they were imprisoned in three different facilities. Human Rights Watch slammed the operation, lamenting that authoritarian governments in Southeast Asia routinely expel political prisoners to their country of origin. Next year, Thailand will have a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.