Cambodia-Thailand: Border violence turns more violent and deadly — Expert Comment

Leaders from Cambodia and Thailand agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” effective at midnight on 28 July, following talks facilitated by the ASEAN chair and the prime minister of Malaysia, and supported by the United States.¹ Thailand has since accused Cambodia of further provocations, including cyberattacks against Thai government agencies,² but Cambodia says the ceasefire is holding.³ While military tensions may soon ease, the risk of repeats or further escalations of the recent violence remains.

Border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand escalated into deadly violence in July following a series of territorial disputes. On 24 July, Thai and Cambodian military forces clashed near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, located near the border. Cambodian forces reportedly fired BM-21 artillery rounds into a nearby village in Thailand, killing at least a dozen civilians and injuring 30 others.⁴ In response, the Thai military deployed F-16 fighter jets, targeting Cambodia’s 8th and 9th infantry support divisions positioned across the border.

Unlike previous rounds of border conflict, both sides employed heavy weaponry, including reconnaissance drones and fighter aircraft.⁵ Battle fronts also expanded to at least 21 locations across Thailand’s five provinces bordering Cambodia, with a new flashpoint emerging over the weekend, as the Thai army deployed eight naval vessels near Trat province⁶ (see map below). The Thai army claimed to have gained control of the disputed Phu Makhuea area in Sisaket province on 26 July and expelled Cambodian troops from Sakaeo province’s Ta Phraya and Khol Sung districts. They also sent the bodies of 12 dead Cambodian soldiers back over the border.⁷ 

ACLED records over 30 incidents of violence resulting in the deaths of at least 35 people —  soldiers and civilians — in four days of cross-border violence. Over 300,000 people in both countries have been displaced.⁸

Low-level border skirmishes have occurred for months after renewed conflict led to the death of a Cambodian soldier on 28 May (see map below). This was the first direct clash between the two respective militaries recorded by ACLED since 2014. Thailand accused Cambodia of encroaching on its territory, but Cambodia claims the contested area falls within its sovereign borders.

The latest escalation occurred just hours after a sharp diplomatic falling out between the two nations. Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia after five Thai soldiers were injured by landmines on 23 July, alleging the devices were planted recently by Cambodian troops — which Cambodia denied.

These events mark the deadliest escalation since 2011, when Thailand contested Cambodia’s claim over the ancient Preah Vihear temple situated near their shared border. ACLED records 24 clashes between the two militaries in that year. In 2013, the International Court of Justice reaffirmed the position it took in 1962, which favored Cambodia’s claim over the temple.⁹