Six weeks after US President Donald Trump proclaimed that he had ended the war between Thailand and Cambodia, the two Southeast Asian neighbors resumed bombing on Monday, amid mutual accusations of violating the ceasefire.
Thai authorities confirmed the launch of airstrikes with F-16 fighters against Cambodian military positions along the shared border and justified the operation by saying that one Thai soldier had been killed and eight others injured in a previous clash. Some 400,000 people in the two countries have fled their homes or been displaced to safer areas.
The Thai side says Cambodia is repositioning its heavy weapons, moving its combat units and preparing support elements with which it could intensify its military operations at different points along the disputed border. The Thai Air Force emphasizes in a press release that these actions forced it to use its “air power to deter and reduce Cambodian capabilities”.
Cambodia rejects this version. In a statement, its Ministry of Defense accuses Thailand of being responsible for the latest escalation, which, it assures, takes place “after days of provocative actions” which remained unanswered. And he emphasizes that three Cambodian civilians are seriously injured and that several villages near the border had to be evacuated.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has been a source of intermittent tension for decades. Although the two countries share cultural and economic ties, they have territorial conflicts inherited from the colonial period (Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953) that have never been resolved. The lack of a clear delimitation in certain sections has caused numerous incidents, both military and diplomatic. Before this year’s clashes, the last major confrontation took place in 2011, when several days of fighting left 17 people dead and forced thousands to evacuate.
The recent exchange of fire that broke the ceasefire began last Sunday, although both countries accuse the other side of opening fire first. The Thai version is that the clash lasted about 20 minutes that day, while the Cambodian claims that she did not respond to the Thai shots and that they stopped after 15 minutes. Hun Sen, the influential former Cambodian prime minister and father of the current leader (Hun Manet), wrote on Facebook that the Thai military was seeking to provoke Cambodia and called for “restraint.” “A red line has already been set to respond,” he said, without providing further details.
The attacks on Monday increased tension. More than 385,000 Thai civilians have been displaced in four provinces, while 1,157 Cambodian families have fled or been taken to safer areas, according to data from various agencies.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a televised message that the government would carry out “all necessary military operations” to defend the country and protect public safety. “Thailand has never been the initiator of an attack or an aggressor, but it will not tolerate a violation of its sovereignty,” he told the nation. According to several international agencies, Anutin then told journalists that the negotiations were no longer working because “it is too late.” “We’ve been very patient,” he said. “Cambodia must meet our conditions to end the fighting. » Asked about the agreement signed in Malaysia in October, he replied: “I don’t remember it anymore.”
The resumption of violence confirms the fragility of the peace process for which Trump takes credit. After the July clashes, which lasted five days and left at least 48 dead and 300,000 displaced, the American president intervened by putting pressure on the two governments, threatening to suspend trade negotiations if they did not agree to a truce. This mediation (added to the efforts of Malaysia and China) made it possible to achieve a first ceasefire and, a few months later, in October, Bangkok and Phnom Penh signed an “expanded” peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur, during the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is a more comprehensive document that not only ratifies the truce agreed in July, but also reinforces it with new commitments, including an ASEAN international monitoring mechanism.
But this frame barely held up. In November, Thailand announced it was suspending implementation of the agreement after accusing Cambodia of placing mines in disputed areas. One of them, according to Bangkok, exploded and caused the foot of a Thai soldier to be amputated. In the days that followed, the two sides again exchanged accusations of gunfire, reigniting the crisis.
On Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called on both sides to exercise restraint. “Our region cannot allow deep-rooted disputes to enter new cycles of confrontation,” he stressed in a statement. The Japanese government, also through an official note, showed its “deep concern” about the development of events and demanded “maximum containment” from Thailand and Cambodia.
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