Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute Intensifies: ‘State Of War’ Brewing? Why Asian nations are fighting

A “state of war” seems to be brewing between Asian countries Thailand and Cambodia as their border dispute intensified for the second day on Friday (July 25). While their conflict has been running for long, Thailand and Cambodia’s latest clash has claimed the lives of around a dozen Thai civilians.

There are speculations that the recent border dispute could further escalate, so much so that it “could escalate into a state of war”, Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has warned. He said that the confrontation now involves heavy weapons.

Thailand has launched airstrikes on Cambodian military targets, accusing the latter of firing rockets and artillery. Cambodia, on the other hand, claimed that Thailand used banned cluster munitions at a border area within its territory.

What is happening between Thailand and Cambodia?

Both the southeast Asian countries have exchanged heavy firing in the last 2 days and blamed each other for initiating the conflict. According to Thailand’s acting PM, Cambodia had attacked on multiple fronts. With this, he added that the situation has intensified and could escalate into a “state of war”.

“At present, it’s a confrontation involving heavy weapons,” he told reporters. On the other hand, Cambodian PM Hun Manet wrote on social media that he had agreed to a ceasefire proposed by his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, who in turn informed him that Thai PM too had agreed. “It is regrettable that just over an hour later, the Thai side informed that they had reversed their position,” Manet stated.

How and when did the Thailand-Cambodia fighting start?

There was a small arms fire between the two early on Thursday (July 24), which quickly escalated to heavy shelling in multiple areas 210 km apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for over a century. The same day, Thailand deployed an F-16 fighter jet to strike a Cambodian military target.

In view of the escalating tensions, Thailand has announced martial law in 8 districts bordering Cambodia on Friday.

Are Thailand and Cambodia clashing over a temple?

A 900-year-old Hindu temple has become a buzzword as Thailand and Cambodian armies continue to fight across the border. Preah Vihear, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, is perched on a 525 metre cliff in Cambodia’s Dangrek mountains. This is a religious site for not just Cambodians, but also for the Thai.

Less than 100 km from Preah Vihear lies another Shiva shrine called Ta Muen Thom temple. It is over this cluster of Hindu temples that both the countries have been fighting over for years now. Despite their attempts at solving these issues, military clashes broke out in 2008, which continued for 5 years.

This culminated in violent clashes in 2011, resulting in reported 34 deaths and thousands of people were displaced. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has recognised Cambodia’s claim to the Preah Vihear temple in both 1962 and 2013, which Thailand refuses to accept.

The dispute has reignited now, with tensions escalating following the death of a Cambodian soldier on May 25, as per several news reports. Following this, Thailand and Cambodia deployed troops to the region and tightened border controls.

How a high-level phone call came into the picture?

What perhaps further fueled the tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours is a phone call in June between Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen and Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, which was an attempt to ease tensions. It is reported that the Cambodian PM Sen leaked the call on social media.

During this call, Paetongtarn addressed him as her “uncle” while also speaking ill of the Thai army. Needless to say, the remarks sparked a crisis within Thai politics, with a major party leaving the Paetongtarn coalition government. The Thai Constitutional Court suspended Shinawatra over the leaked call.