Well, the simmering border feud between Thailand and Cambodia just went full boil — and fast.
On Thursday, Thailand scrambled F-16s and launched airstrikes against Cambodian military positions after Cambodia fired rockets and artillery across the border, killing at least 11 civilians — most of them students in a convenience store near a petrol station in Sisaket province. The Thai public health ministry confirmed the civilian deaths, calling it one of the deadliest days in this decades-long dispute.
This is all over the so-called “Emerald Triangle” — a slice of contested jungle where Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet, dotted with centuries-old temples. It’s been a sore spot for decades, with periodic flare-ups, but Thursday’s clash is easily the most dangerous escalation in years.
Here’s how it unfolded: Thai forces say it started with a Cambodian drone over Ta Muen temple early Thursday morning, followed by six armed Cambodian soldiers — one with an RPG — approaching a barbed-wire fence near a Thai post.
By 8:20 a.m., according to Bangkok, Cambodian forces opened fire near the temple, and then came the rockets — two BM-21s slamming into a Thai community, killing civilians and wounding at least three others.
Thailand’s response? Six F-16s took off from Ubon Ratchathani province and hit two Cambodian military targets on the ground. “We will do our best to protect our sovereignty,” said acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, calling for a “careful handling” of the crisis.
Cambodia, of course, tells a different story. Its defense ministry insists it was Thailand who launched an “armed assault” on Cambodian troops, forcing them to exercise their “legitimate right to self-defense.” Prime Minister Hun Manet is now demanding an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, accusing Thailand of “unprovoked military aggression.”
Diplomatic relations? In freefall. Thailand has expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy; Cambodia has downgraded ties to “the lowest level” and booted nearly all Thai diplomats from Phnom Penh. Border crossings are closed, evacuations are underway, and Thailand’s embassy in Phnom Penh is urging its citizens to get out “as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, China — Cambodia’s close ally — is “deeply concerned,” Malaysia (ASEAN’s current chair) is begging for calm, and Thailand is dealing with its own political crisis as suspended PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra watches this unfold from the sidelines.
