On Thursday morning, deadly fighting broke out between Thai and Cambodian troops along their disputed border. Authorities have confirmed that at least 12 people, most of them Thai civilians, were killed in the crossfire.
Thailand has blamed Cambodia for killing Thai citizens, while Cambodia has blamed Thailand for bombing Cambodian targets with fighter jets. Neither claim could be independently verified at the time this article as published.
Videos circulating online show explosions and gunfire in the disputed area. Many who live along the contested border have sought shelter.
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Why is the conflict escalating now?
While it’s still unclear what tipped the scales in this most recent escalation, tensions between both nations have been rising noticeably in recent months. In late May, Thai armed forces killed a Cambodian soldier in an exchange of fire that ensued as his unit was digging trenches along the disputed border. Since then, both counties have sent reinforcements to the area
On Wednesday, Thailand said it was withdrawing its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador. The kingdom also closed multiple border crossings to Cambodia.
This came after land mines reportedly wounded a series of Thai soldiers in several incidents along the contested border region. Thai authorities claimed the mines had been newly laid along paths that were supposed to be safe.
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What are they fighting over?
The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is decades old. Both countries share a 800-kilometer (500-mile) border which stretches across regions that are sparsely inhabited. It is difficult to access in parts, and has been insufficiently charted in the past.
Many demarcations are remnants from colonial times. France occupied Cambodia from 1863 until the nation gained its independence in 1953, while Thailand has remained an independent kingdom.
During this near-century of French occupation, Cambodia and Thailand mutually ceded territory multiple times, changing the boundary line. And in 1907, France pressured Thailand, then Siam, to sign a treaty adjusting its border. Thailand later went on to contest this treaty.
There are also several temples near the Thai-Cambodian border to which both countries lay claim — most notably, the historic Preah Vihear temple, a 1,000-year-old Hindu site built by the Khmer Empire. The temple lies in the so-called Emerald Triangle.
Both Cambodia and Thailand claimed ownership and the case went to court, where in 1962, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the temple was on Cambodian territory. In 2008, as UNESCO was moving to declare it a World Heritage Site, the old dispute over the temple reignited. Several people were killed as fire was exchanged at the border. When Cambodia turned to the IJC once more in 2011, the ruling was again in Cambodia’s favor.
Can anyone mediate?
In 2000, Thailand and Cambodia formed a Joint Border Commission to peacefully resolve border disputes. But the body has not registered much success to date.
In February, Cambodia turned to the ICJ for a third time in a letter
“requesting adjudication of the long-standing border disputes” with Thailand.
Meanwhile, Thailand appears to prefer bilateral solutions — which, given recent escalations, appear far away for now.
“Cambodia wants to bring the current case before the ICJ, because in the past, its appeals to the court were successful,” Zachary Abuza, an expert on the region at the independent think tank Lowy Institute, told DW in June.
“Thailand wants to use its economic might, and believes it has a significant economic advantage.”
How mutually dependent are both countries?
Thailand is more industrialized that its southeastern neighbor, with a gross domestic product that is about 12 times as high. While Thailand exports electronics, automobiles and foodstuffs, Cambodia’s industry relies mostly on the textile and agricultural industries. According to official statistics, some 500,000 Cambodian guest workers live in Thailand.
“Both have a lot to lose,” Tita Sanglee, a research fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told DW. “Thailand is highly dependent on Cambodian laborers and exports a significant amount to Cambodia. Next to fuels, machines and drinks, many Thai exports are everyday necessities.”
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia also involve Preah Vihear, a 1,000-year-old temple claimed by both nations. Here, Cambodian soldiers in the surrounding province are seen preparing ordnance on July 24Image: STR/AFP
She added that both nations also rely on income from tourism, which is expected to scale back drastically should the conflict drag on.
What role does the governmental crisis in Thailand play?
The governments in Phnom Penh and Bangkok had actually kept close ties, not least thanks to good relations between former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen.
In Cambodia, Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, took over the reins in 2023. But in Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was recently suspended over political scandal involving a leaked phone conversation in which she addressed the former Cambodian leader as “uncle” and criticized her own military commanders with regards to the shared border conflict.
Prior to this, conservative voices close to the military had sharply criticized Paetongtarn’s plans to engage in discussions with Cambodia over jointly exploring oil and gas fields in a shared contested maritime area in the Gulf of Thailand.
Thailand has also been struggling with a shrinking economy and high tariffs imposed by the US.
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The prime minister was suspended by Thailand’s constitutional court in early July, and months could pass before a final ruling is handed down on the matter. Until then, Thailand’s political stability is likely to remain fragile.
The Thai military might be taking advantage of a situation in flux: In recent weeks, its rhetoric toward Cambodia has become noticeably sharper. And the English daily, Bangkok Post, has already openly discussed fears from the tourism branch that another military coup might be on the horizon.
This article was originally written in German.
