At least 12 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in fresh clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, Thai authorities have said, as months of simmering tensions between the two South Asian countries boiled over on Thursday.
Eleven civilians and one soldier were killed in artillery shelling, Thailand’s health minister, Somsak Thepsuthin, said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he had called on the United Nations Security Council to address what he described as a “premeditated military aggression” by Thailand. Thailand said Cambodia had opened fire first.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh have a long history of border disputes, and the recent flare in tensions was fuelled by the death of a Cambodian soldier in a contested area in May.
A Thai soldier was seriously injured on July 16 after a mine in a disputed border area detonated. Thailand accused Cambodia of planting new mines along the border, which Cambodia denied.
A second explosion on Wednesday injured another Thai soldier. Cambodian authorities again denied laying fresh explosives.
A unit of Thai soldiers salute during a training at a military barrack in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, April 19, 2011. A unit of Thai soldiers salute during a training at a military barrack in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, April 19, 2011. AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong
Border crossings between the two neighbors have been limited for several weeks, and reports from both countries on Thursday indicated border clashes at multiple points where both sides stake a claim to territory. Thailand said it was sealing the border on Thursday.
Cambodia’s government said on Thursday it had downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to “the lowest level” after Thailand recalled its ambassador in Phnom Penh, expelled Cambodia’s ambassador in Bangkok and limited diplomatic channels.
Cambodia’s Khmer news agency reported on Thursday the Cambodian military had shot down a Thai F-16. Both militaries had reported a Thai F-16 had targeted Cambodia.
“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told the media, according to Reuters. Phnom Penh said Thailand had dropped two bombs on a road.
Cambodia’s government said Thai soldiers had climbed a temple close to the border and placed barbed wire on the site, before launching a drone over the area. Cambodia accused Thailand of firing on its troops and broadening attacks out to several other areas.
How Do Cambodia’s and Thailand’s Militaries Compare?
Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, reportedly said Phnom Penh was “fully prepared for combat,” adding in a message directed at Bangkok: “Do not boast of your superior military power.”
“You will face the most severe retaliation,” he added.
Thailand has a “large, well funded military,” the U.K.-based defense think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said in early 2025 as it published its count of the world’s armed forces.
Thailand’s defense budget for this year is just shy of $5.7 billion, according to the think tank, with Cambodia’s weighing in much lower at $1.3 billion.
Air Forces
Bangkok’s air force “is one of the best equipped and trained in Southeast Asia,” the IISS said. Thailand has 112 combat-capable aircraft, the IISS said at the start of 2025, including 46 F-16s of different variants.
Bangkok also has a handful of the fourth-generation Swedish Gripen jets. While not the latest generation of aircraft, known as fifth-generation jets — such as the F-35 and F-22 — well-maintained F-16s and Gripens are considered very capable aircraft. Thailand is in the process of phasing out its older F-16s for more Gripens.
Thailand, in its 46,000-person strong air force, also has two Erieye airborne early warning aircraft that work alongside the Gripens.
Cambodia does not have fighter jets in its 1,500-person-strong air force, but has 26 helicopters of different types.
“The Thai Air Force has U.S. F-16 aircraft, which it used to strike Cambodian military sites on Wednesday with impunity, while Cambodia lacks operational fighter aircraft,” said John Hemmings, deputy director for geopolitics at the U.K.-based Council on Geostrategy think tank.
Land and Naval Forces
Cambodia’s army has roughly 75,000 personnel, with approximately 200 tanks, the IISS said. Around 50 of these main battle tanks are Chinese-made versions of the Soviet-era T-54, and more than 150 T-54s and T-55s.
Phnom Penh has 70 of the BMP-1s, a type of Soviet-era amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that Russia and Ukraine have both deployed in eastern Europe.
Thailand’s army, with its 130,000 personnel plus nearly the same number of conscripts, had close to 400 main battle tanks, many of which are aged U.S.-made tanks. Bangkok also has an aircraft carrier and seven frigates, while Phnom Penh does not have a navy to speak of.
“Thailand fields the most modern main battle tanks — including the VT4 from the People’s Republic of China — while Cambodia relies heavily on the 1950s T-54,”Hemmings told Newsweek.
“Both countries field artillery systems, both in terms of self-propelled missile rocket launchers and towed artillery,” Hemmings added. “Cambodian systems are post-War like the BM-21 — with a few 1990s Chinese systems thrown in — while Thailand has a mixture of some recent U.S., Israeli, and Chinese systems.”
