Camille Naredo

A flag for the 33rd SEA Games 2025 is pictured outside Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on November 28, 2025. Chanakarn Laosarakham, AFP

A flag for the 33rd SEA Games 2025 is pictured outside Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on November 28, 2025. Eleven sports at the Southeast Asian Games hosted by Thailand in December will be moved mostly to the capital Bangkok because of severe flooding, organisers have said. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP)

Article (news)

SEA Games 2025

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1765268170814AFP__20251128__86FC3KE__v1__MidRes__Seagames2025ThailandFlood.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A flag for the 33rd SEA Games 2025 is pictured outside Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on November 28, 2025. Chanakarn Laosarakham, AFP" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A flag for the 33rd SEA Games 2025 is pictured outside Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok on November 28, 2025. <em>Chanakarn Laosarakham, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>BANGKOK, Thailand -- The Southeast Asian Games officially open in Bangkok on Tuesday with security for athletes tightened due to fresh border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.</p><p>The SEA Games run until December 20 in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi, with thousands of athletes from 11 southeast Asian countries competing in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding, sailing and combat sports.</p><p>They include world-class performers such as Olympic weightlifting gold medalists Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines and Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia, and Thailand&#x27;s badminton silver medalist Kunlavut Vitidsarn.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/9/sea-games-to-open-in-thailand-after-chaotic-build-up-0500" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ: SEA Games to open in Thailand after chaotic build-up</a></div><p>The Thai King and Queen are scheduled to open the Games ceremony at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok Tuesday evening, with a performance by South Korea–trained Thai artist BamBam.</p><p>Far from the competition, renewed combat this week over a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has killed six Cambodian civilians and three Thai soldiers, and wounded more than 20 others.</p><p>Citing safety concerns, Cambodia last month withdrew about half of its athletes, pulling out of eight events including football, wrestling, judo and karate.</p><p>Thailand&#x27;s deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao said Tuesday that Thailand will &quot;ensure the highest level of security&quot; for Cambodian athletes during the ongoing border tensions.</p><p>Security personnel will be deployed to guarantee their safety, he said, though specific operational details were not disclosed.</p><p>Thailand is hosting the SEA Games, which take place every two years, for the first time since 2007. They were first held in Bangkok in 1959.</p><p>The SEA Games are known for inclusion of non-Olympic sports from the region such sepak takraw, foot volleyball played with a rattan ball and pencak silat, a martial art popular in Indonesia.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8CeoT8ol8M?&amp;pp=0gcJCSgKAYcqIYzv&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Southeast Asian Games officially open in Bangkok on Tuesday with security for athletes tightened due to fresh border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.</p>

The Southeast Asian Games officially open in Bangkok on Tuesday with security for athletes tightened due to fresh border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

SEA Games to open in Thailand with tightened security

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SEA Games to open in Thailand with tightened security

Agence France-Presse

Published December 09, 2025 04:17 PM PHT

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