Thailand and Cambodia (both ASEAN members): Serious new border clashes – century old dispute

This week’s clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces near the Ta Muen Thom and Ta Kwai temples are the latest flare-up in a century-old border dispute dating back to French colonial rule.

The Conflict Zone: The disputed areas lie in Surin Province (Thailand) and Oddar Meanchey Province (Cambodia), near the Dangrek Mountains. Both Ta Muen Thom and Preah Vihear are ancient Khmer temples that sit directly on or near the border.

A Colonial Legacy: France drew the original border in the early 1900s, favoring Cambodia. Thailand contests these lines, especially in areas where the watershed boundary doesn’t match the temple locations.

Key Flashpoints: Preah Vihear: In 1962, the ICJ ruled in Cambodia’s favor, giving it sovereignty over the temple but Thailand still disputes the surrounding land.

Ta Muen Thom & Ta Kwai: Thailand maintains that these temples are on its soil. Cambodia disagrees and has stationed troops nearby for years.

Clashes erupted after a Thai soldier was wounded by a landmine, prompting artillery fire, RPG launches, and reported F-16 strikes on Cambodian positions. Both sides have now downgraded diplomatic relations, expelled ambassadors, and closed borders.

In other words, this isn’t a new war, and tensions here have been building exponentially since May.

At a press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, when responding to a related question related to the Thailand-Cambodia border clash, stated that Thailand and Cambodia are both friendly neighbors of China and important members of ASEAN. Maintaining good-neighborly relations and properly handling differences serve the fundamental and long-term interests of both sides.

He added that China is deeply concerned about the current escalation and hopes both parties will resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. In light of the common interests and aspirations of regional countries, China, upholding a fair and impartial stance, has been and will continue to play a constructive role in promoting dialogue and de-escalation in its own way.

On Thursday, Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire along their shared border. According to AFP, both Cambodia and Thailand accused each other of firing the first shot in what is the latest clash stemming from a longstanding territorial dispute near two ancient temples.

A Chinese military expert is warning of further escalation.

The clashes continue: 

Following this morning’s clash between Thai and Cambodian forces near Chong Anma, Ubon Ratchathani, the Royal Thai Air Force deployed six F-16s.

Thai jets reportedly struck and destroyed the headquarters of Cambodia’s 8th and 9th Infantry Divisions.

The border clash erupted near the disputed area in Nam Yuen District. This marks the first confirmed use of airstrikes in the conflict so far.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has activated emergency protocols following border clashes near Ta Muen Thom Temple.

Phnom Dong Rak Hospital has fully evacuated its patients. Kap Choeng Hospital is currently relocating patients to safer locations as the situation escalates.

Sources: DD Geopolitics, Various Chinese publications.  GlobalSouth.co does not have expertise in this area, but we do have contacts and will reach out for local comments should this issue persist.  Further sources are Brian Berletic and Ria Novosti.

Brian Berletic has reported on this for many years.  The following are his comments:

On the Recent Thailand-Cambodia Conflict – Details the Western Media Won’t Report

▪️Following Thai soldiers injured by Cambodian-placed mines along a disputed border and downgraded diplomatic ties, Cambodia has launched Grad MLRS strikes on populated areas, causing indiscriminate death and destruction;

▪️Thai forces are responding with greater but still measured force against Cambodian military targets near disputed areas – Thailand’s military is several times larger in size than Cambodia’s and possesses vastly greater capabilities than Cambodia, calling into further suspicion Cambodia’s provocative actions;

▪️Western media is pretending not to know who started the shooting and is deliberately trying to link China to Cambodia and its actions – however – Thailand has a by far larger relationship with China than Cambodia and by far greater amounts of modern weapons from China than Cambodia including a Chinese main battle tank fleet, long-range precision guided rocket launchers, drones, APCs/IFVs, and Chinese air defense systems;

▪️This border dispute has erupted into violence over the past years (2008 and 2011) – at both previous junctures, US-backed client regimes were either struggling to stay in power or were attempting to get into power – and now fighting has begun again as a US-backed client regime is likewise hanging in the balance.

▪️Cambodian PM Hun Sen, while having a growing relationship with China and having been targeted by US-backed regime change himself, has systematically aided US-backed sedition in neighboring Thailand for 20 years – Cambodia also maintains the US as its largest and most important export market – an outlier in Southeast Asia which mostly exports to China and others in the region;

▪️Like every other conflict around the globe, people need to be cautious about accepting Western news reports at face value – this will NOT be the “first” conflict they report on honestly and without ulterior motives;  always remember – conflict and division suits the nation pursuing empire (US) – and disrupts multipolarism – so if you’re looking for a motive – that is likely at the very absolute center – having a smaller nation attack a larger nation (think Georgia-Russia 2008) creates needless conflicts, animosity, suiting the interests of neither party of the conflict – and division in a world that would otherwise be moving forward together into multipolarism…

External Factors Regarding Thai-Cambodian Conflict …

▪️While ASEAN is growing closer to China, Thailand has done so to a greater extent than Cambodia;

▪️Look at this 2023 summary of Thai and Cambodian exports per partner – Thai exports are around 18% (14% China, 4% Hong Kong which is still China) while exports to the US are 16%. The majority of Thai exports are to other destinations in Asia;

▪️Cambodian exports are overwhelmingly dependent on the US and the West in general with a minority of exports going to other nations within Asia itself – the US dollar itself is used for transactions INSIDE Cambodia itself;

▪️While not an absolute metric, this economic dependence on the US manifests itself in Washington’s ability to pressure, coerce, and otherwise shape policies of a target nation;

▪️Cambodia has worked to reverse this – but as can be seen, US influence over Cambodia is still significant – this is in addition to US political interference which is extensive in both Thailand & Cambodia;

In addition to external factors from Ria Novosti:

What threats the international community faces in the event of an escalation of the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia:

🔹The Thai Tuna Industry Association: the world may face a serious shortage of canned tuna due to Thailand’s dominant position in the market;

🔹The UN Comtrade: the disruption of Thailand’s trade could lead to problems with the supply of pet food to world markets, as Thailand is the second largest supplier in 2024;

🔹The UN Comtrade: the disruption of Thailand’s foreign trade could cause problems in the automotive market, as Thailand accounts for two-thirds of global supplies of raw materials for tire manufacturing;

🔹Leonid Khazanov, an independent industry expert: if the supply of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds is stopped, it will hit the jewelry industry; the consequences would be felt by the US and EU, as Thailand is their largest stone processor.