Thai Fast and Furious: conflict escalated between Thailand and Cambodia

On Thursday morning, July 24, an armed clash between the military of the two countries began on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. As a result, the Thai authorities have closed border crossings. Almost simultaneously, the states announced a reduction in the level of diplomatic relations. Details of the conflict and its causes can be found in the Izvestia article.

Conflict between Thailand and Cambodia: what is known

On Thursday morning, July 24, at about 07:30 local time (03:30 Moscow time), a clash between the military took place on the Thai-Cambodian border in Oddar Mien province. At the time of the article's publication, it was not reliably known who initiated the fighting, both countries accuse each other of escalation.

According to the Thai army, the Cambodian military opened fire, wounding two Thai soldiers. According to them, this was done in the area of the Ta Moan Thom temple in the province of Surin, located in the disputed territory. At the same time, the Thai side claims that the Cambodian military used a drone for reconnaissance purposes and allegedly intended to send troops to the area with heavy weapons.

A representative of the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, in turn, noted that the soldiers retaliated in self-defense, responding to the invasion of Thai troops, which "violated the territorial integrity."

After that, the intensity of the conflict continued to increase. The command of the Second Military District of the Thai Ground Forces reported: "At 09:40 (05:40 Moscow time), Cambodia attacked the border area in (Thai — Ed.) Sisaket province with BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems. At 10:51 (06:51 Moscow time), six F-16 aircraft of the Thai armed forces were sent to launch an airstrike on Cambodian troops. At 10:58 a.m., the pilots reported on the successful strikes on the locations (on Cambodian territory — Ed.) of the 8th and 9th infantry battalions of the Cambodian ground forces."

A Grad shell hit a gas station store, killing two people and injuring many others, including schoolchildren. According to Thai Prime Minister Phet Hongthan Shinawatra, the country will respond to Cambodia's actions. Later it became known that attacks were also carried out on five hospitals, the number of victims reached 11. One soldier was also killed.

After that, at 11:30 (07:30 Moscow time), F-16 fighters of the Thai Air Force bombed Cambodian military positions, which became the first confirmed use of the Air Force during combat operations.

According to the latest information, Thailand has closed all checkpoints on the border with Cambodia.

Cambodia's Ministry of Defense has already condemned Thailand's "reckless and brutal military aggression" and confirmed that the Thai army had indeed deployed aircraft.

Former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged citizens to remain calm. "We urge all Cambodians to trust our government and the Armed Forces that are on the front lines... We ask everyone... stay focused and continue your daily activities as usual," he wrote on the social network.

Due to the growing conflict, the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) has already called on citizens to leave the country immediately due to a possible escalation of tension.

"There are signs that the conflict may take on a protracted character and expand even further," the embassy said.

The authorities of four Thai provinces (Surin, Buriram, Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani), located near the border with Cambodia, have already announced the evacuation of local residents.

Deterioration of relations between Thailand and Cambodia

Relations between Cambodia and Thailand began to deteriorate on May 28, when Thai soldiers opened fire on a Cambodian military post in the village of Techo Morokot in Phong district in the disputed territory located between Cambodia's Prahvihear province and Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province. As a result, one Cambodian soldier was killed and several were injured.

Later, on June 2, Cambodia announced its intention to submit to the International Court of Justice for a legal settlement of the dispute over the demarcation of the border in four border areas — Mambey, as well as around the temples of Tamoanthom, Tamoantauch and Takrabey. Thailand disagreed with this decision and unilaterally closed all border crossings on the joint border, forcing Phnom Penh to take a similar retaliatory step.

On Wednesday, July 23, Thailand recalled its ambassador from Phnom Penh and announced the expulsion of the Cambodian ambassador from Bangkok, citing a recent incident on the joint border in which a Thai soldier was injured due to an antipersonnel mine explosion.

At the same time, the level of diplomatic relations was lowered, as reported by the acting Prime Minister of Thailand, Phumtham Vetchayachai. Cambodia took a similar step the next day, on July 24, and downgraded him to the lowest level, the second Charge d'affaires.

Conflict resolution

The Thai Foreign Minister, who is currently in New York, plans to discuss the escalation of the conflict at the UN headquarters with the Secretary General of the organization and representatives of Japan, Russia and several other countries during the day.

China has already stated that it will play a constructive role in de-escalating the conflict between the two countries, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun. "China adheres to a fair and impartial position, will continue to promote reconciliation and negotiations in its own way, and will play a constructive role in promoting de-escalation," the diplomat said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has already called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

"In view of the recent attacks of an extremely serious nature by Thailand (...) I kindly ask you to convene an urgent Security Council meeting to stop Thailand's aggression," he wrote. He also added that Thailand's actions "were not provoked by anything" and were a "deliberate attack" on Cambodian positions along the border.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have been rising since the end of May. On May 28, Thai soldiers opened fire on a Cambodian military post in the disputed area between the provinces of Prahvihear (Cambodia) and Ubon Ratchathani (Thailand) in the village of Techo Morokot in Phong district. One Cambodian soldier was killed and several others were injured.

Later, on June 2, Cambodia announced plans to refer disputed border issues from the days of French colonial rule to the International Court of Justice. In particular, we are talking about four border areas: Mambey and around the temples of Tamoanthom, Tamoantauch and Takrabey. Thailand did not support this decision and closed all border crossings with Cambodia, Phnom Penh took mirror measures.