Thai and Cambodian Troops Exchange Border Fire

[PeterRS]

The bad relations between Thailand and Cambodia just got worse. The BBC and CNN report that early this morning both sides exchanged fire near the Khmer Temple Ta Muen Thom where tensions have been high for weeks. Today's clash follows Thailand's recall of its Ambassador to Cambodia and a landmine explosion resulting in a Thai soldier on the border losing his leg and five others injured. Two hospitals in Surin Province have begun evacuating patients, according to Thailand's Public Health Ministry. Cambodia has ordered all diplomatic staff to leave Thailand.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80p8z0y0eko

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/23/asia/thailand-cambodia-clashes-border-intl-hnk

The chances of Cambodians returning to appear in the gay bars any time soon have surely reached zero.

[Marc308]

Peter, oh no how very sad to see hostilities boil over again. 

[PeterRS]

In a sign of further escalation, about 45 minutes ago Thailand launched F-16 fighter jets against Cambodian military targets. The BBC reports that Cambodia's Special Military Region Commands 8 and 9 have been destroyed. Troops have been firing at each other on each side of the border.

Thailand has asked all Thai nationals to leave Cambodia and has now sealed the entire border between the two countries.

https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/thailand-cambodia-border-dispute-07-24-25-intl-hnk

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c98j77zde86t

[PeterRS]

Latest report is that Cambodian rockets have killed two Thai civilians. All schools in the Thai border area have been closed.

[Vessey]

This is obviously worrying; I had rather naively hoped it would all have died down by now. Not just worrying for those directly involved of course, but also for its potential impact on the many Cambodian boys that currently work in Pattaya in massage and bars, etc.

My Laos BF used to go monthly (bi-monthly now) to the Cambodian border to get his visa renewed, this last time he said he need to go back to Laos to do that, and of course he needed to fly as the bus journey was so long. No only did he fly there, he has decided to stay there a few days before flying back. Costing me a small fortune haha. A small group of other Laos boys working in the Complex, did pretty much the same thing, and like my BF are still in Laos for a while longer at least (I know one of the lads farang BF who, like me, has had to stump up extra cash!).

My Thai friends in BT and JC say that at the moment the conflict is not an issue with their Cambodian friends they work alongside at the moment, but how long will things stay that way if this border dispute festers or escalates further?  

[PeterRS]

The BBC now reports nine civilian deaths.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c98j77zde86t

[Moses]

5 hours ago, PeterRS said:

and a landmine explosion resulting in a Thai soldier on the border losing his leg and five others injured

And it is this fact that makes the current events on the border not as transparent as they are presented in the news: if a Thai soldier stepped on a Thai mine on Thai soil (let's assume that it was installed to protect the border, although this is barbaric), then why did he not have a map of the minefields and stepped on Thai mine, and what is Cambodia's fault?

And if he stepped on a Cambodian mine, then the question is: what was he doing on Cambodian territory?

[spoon]

Most likely those incident happened in the disputed land at the border where both countries are claiming that land are theirs.... I thought that is the main reason of the conflict?

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, spoon said:

Most likely those incident happened in the disputed land at the border where both countries are claiming that land are theirs.... I thought that is the main reason of the conflict?

main reason of the conflict is that Thai military wants to  pose as defender of homeland thus creating excuse for another coup and current government's removal. Once this is achieved  Thailand and Cambodia will return to their eternal friendship, all smiles.

As  The Economist recently observed Thailand remains only  middle income country in the world where  coups are staged regularly.

I feel sorry for all Cambodian boys who must be feeling like carpet is removed from under their feet

. 

[KeepItReal]

So sad. Old men decide to initiate conflict, but it is the young men who die in conflict. 

 

[khaolakguy]

8 hours ago, Moses said:

And it is this fact that makes the current events on the border not as transparent as they are presented in the news: if a Thai soldier stepped on a Thai mine on Thai soil (let's assume that it was installed to protect the border, although this is barbaric), then why did he not have a map of the minefields and stepped on Thai mine, and what is Cambodia's fault?

And if he stepped on a Cambodian mine, then the question is: what was he doing on Cambodian territory?

Of course national borders(even unmarked and disputed ones) are sacrosanct. 

[Moses]

2 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

even unmarked and disputed ones

"Unmarked" that border only for Thai side, UN court's decision is clear since 1963 https://www.icj-cij.org/case/45

[Marc308]

5 hours ago, KeepItReal said:

So sad. Old men decide to initiate conflict, but it is the young men who die in conflict. 

 

Indeed Keep you are so right. War is so incredibly stupid. I always thought of both Thailand and Cambodia as essentially peace-loving countries at least since the times of Pol Pot. It is interesting how a small border dispute can lead to strife, killings, violence and instability.

[PeterRS]

4 hours ago, Marc308 said:

 It is interesting how a small border dispute can lead to strife, killings, violence and instability.

Sadly it happens too frequently. There was a thread here quite recently about the regular border skirmishes (I don't call these wars even though some soldiers are killed) between China and India. Back in 1969 there were months of much more serious border clashes between the USSR and China, one of which threatened to involve nuclear weapons. And when I arrived in Asia for the first time at the start of March 1979, the last sector of my flight, from Bangkok to Hong Kong, took an hour longer as it had to circle around the bottom of Vietnam. China and Vietnam had fought a border war earlier in the year and Vietnam airspace was closed.

[PeterRS]

"Move Towards War"

The BBC website is reporting that 16 people have now been killed including an 8-year old boy - all but one civilians, 100,000 displaced on both sides of the border and the Thai Prime Minster is saying the conflict could "move towards war."

Suspended PM Shinawatra has strongly condemned Cambodia's "act of aggression." Funny that! It was she who started the escalation of the whole affair. She should just shut up!

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c98j77zde86t

[Shonen]

I find the land mines interesting. What is the history of this? Did it start with the Khmer Rouge? what a terrible job installing and trying to remove them.

[vinapu]

13 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 

Suspended PM Shinawatra has strongly condemned Cambodia's "act of aggression." Funny that! It was she who started the escalation of the whole affair.

or rather Hun Sen who leaked their conversation to media ?

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, Shonen said:

I find the land mines interesting. What is the history of this? Did it start with the Khmer Rouge? what a terrible job installing and trying to remove them.

Certainly  the Khmer Rouge planted many landmines, a lot during their retreat after the Vietnamese invasion. I went to a landmine museum  in Cambodia,  a bit macabre!

[Pete1111]

Sky News Australia YT channel reports 22 dead.  

CBC/Radio-Canada channel on YT posted a 10+ minute piece on the history of the dispute, which I found helpful for a general understanding.

 

https://youtu.be/nDZe2vraTHQ?si=cDpSDS8w_tFiypFa

 

[PeterRS]

4 hours ago, vinapu said:

or rather Hun Sen who leaked their conversation to media ?

Even if he did leak the conversation, PM Shinawatra was a near idiot in assuming it would remain secret, in my view. When secret conversations can benefit one party, that party is often the one to leak them. She should have known that, but then again she should never have become Prime Minister.

It seems very clear now that the curtain has finally come down on the 25-year love affair of this country with the thieving Shinawatra clan.

[PeterRS]

2 hours ago, Pete1111 said:

https://youtu.be/nDZe2vraTHQ?si=cDpSDS8w_tFiypFa

That is a very clear and perceptive video outining events of the last few days. The obvious warning comes at the end. While neither side probably wants escalation and war, neither has the strength of leadership required to see that end result. My view is that Thailand is in a worse situation than Cambodia here, if only because Hun Sen and his son are very much the strong men in Cambodia and they are not going to back down. Thailand at present has pretty much a leadership vacuum. And it is when there is a power vacuum that situations can get out of control.

[PeterRS]

The number killed has now risen to 32. The United Nations and even Donald Trump, now engaged in his favourite pastime (no, not political smear mongering, but golf as he tries to relax at the courses he owns in Scotland), have joined Cambodia in calling for a ceasefire. Thailand's foreign minister has said Cambodia needs to show its sincerity for talks to proceed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9x99n79v8o

[vinapu]

13 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

The number killed has now risen to 32.

32 dead as result of border dispute which could be solved by tossing a coin. Must be some serious money involved in it somewhere.

[PeterRS]

There may be some sort of end in sight. Both parties in the conflict have agreed to meet in Malaysia with a view to finding a way of ending the fighting. Malaysia's Prime Minister is the Chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

[Patanawet]

Follow on YouTube  'TNT Live ' (it is Tim Newton's daily (or more frequent) sum up of all the papers and news outlets in the area.
Peter mentions BBC News and CNN.  They usually broadcast news before The Bangkok Post gets around to it (more a 'history' paper than a 'news' paper).