Habitat fragmentation poses a significant threat to global wildlife, making the identification of habitat networks and the restoration of habitat connectivity crucial strategies to address this urgent global crisis. However, most existing research on habitat network identification and connectivity is often based on administrative boundaries, which tends to overlook the crucial role of biodiversity-rich transboundary regions in sustaining habitat connectivity over broader ecological scales. As a consequence, such an approach frequently falls short in effectively mitigating the ongoing global biodiversity loss caused by increasing habitat fragmentation. Therefore, the identification and establishment of habitat networks that consider transboundary regions has become an increasingly urgent and essential task in global conservation planning. In this study, we selected the activity area of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the China-Laos-Myanmar transboundary region as a case study. Using 2020 land cover data, we applied a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) model to assess habitat suitability for Asian elephants. High-quality habitat patches were identified as ecological source areas using the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm, and ecological corridors were extracted using the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model. Finally, we compared habitat networks for Asian elephants under two scenarios: one considering habitats outside China and one excluding them, to examine how these networks are connected, highlight their differences, assess their implications for domestic conservation efforts, and explore potential strategies for improving connectivity. The results showed that (1) when habitats outside China are included, the carrying capacity per unit of ecological source area (2.31?2.43 elephants/102 km2) and the overall network connectivity (α index: 0.63?0.66, β index: 2.13?2.19, γ index: 0.76?0.78) were high, indicating that the overall network connectivity is better. In contrast, excluding habitats outside China simplifies the network structure (β index: 1.76?1.67), reduced connectivity (γ index: 0.67?0.63), and limited corridor and source area options (α index: 0.48?0.42), which could have detrimental effects on long-term population viability. (2) There was a clear spatial mismatch between the habitat pattern and the distribution of the Asian elephant population. Optimal and suitable habitats within the study area comprised 23.01% of the region but supported over 90% of the local elephant population. The findings suggested that developing a transboundary habitat network that spanned national boundaries was critical for optimizing the allocation and effective use of suitable habitats. This would enhance habitat connectivity and support the long-term conservation of Asian elephants.