BANGKOK — Thailand launched air strikes along its disputed border with Cambodia after both countries accused the other of breaching a cease-fire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Thai military said, marking the sharpest escalation in months along one of Southeast Asia’s most volatile frontiers.
The Thai military said at least one Thai soldier was killed and four were wounded in fresh clashes around two areas of Ubon Ratchathani province after its troops came under Cambodian fire. “The Thai side has now begun using aircraft to strike military targets in several areas,” the statement said.
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Cambodia’s defense ministry countered that Thailand had launched dawn attacks at two locations following days of “provocative actions,” adding that Cambodian forces had not retaliated. Each side’s account could not be reconciled by the other, underscoring the fragility of a cease-fire repeatedly tested since midyear.
The border dispute erupted into a five-day conflict in July, when the neighbors exchanged rockets and heavy artillery, killing at least 48 people and temporarily displacing an estimated 300,000. A cease-fire was later brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Trump, who also witnessed the signing of an expanded peace agreement between the two countries in Kuala Lumpur in October.
Tensions flared again last month after a land mine blast maimed a Thai soldier. Thailand responded by saying it was halting implementation of the cease-fire pact with Cambodia, a move that set the stage for this week’s confrontations.
The human toll is mounting on the Thai side of the border. More than 385,000 civilians across four districts are being evacuated, with over 35,000 already in temporary shelters, the Thai military said. Authorities did not immediately provide figures for civilian movements inside Cambodia.
In a sign of the political stakes, Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen, father of current Prime Minister Hun Manet, called Thailand’s military “aggressors” and urged restraint by Cambodian forces. “The red line for responding has already been set. I urged commanders at all levels to educate all officers and soldiers accordingly,” Hun Sen said on Facebook, without elaborating.
The latest hostilities deepen a long-running quarrel over sovereignty at un-demarcated points along the countries’ 817-kilometer land border, first mapped in 1907 by France when it ruled Cambodia as a colony. Despite numerous attempts to settle overlapping claims, military skirmishes have punctuated the relationship, including a week-long artillery exchange in 2011.
As of late Wednesday, there were no indications of renewed talks. Thailand did not specify the targets or duration of its air operations, and Cambodia did not detail the extent of reported Thai strikes. The two sides have exchanged accusations of cease-fire violations in recent days, with both invoking defensive measures.
The breakdown threatens to unravel months of diplomacy and raises the risk of a broader confrontation in border communities where memories of July’s violence remain vivid. Whether the cease-fire can be salvaged may hinge on rapid de-escalation and third-party mediation — an approach that helped halt the shooting earlier this year but has yet to take root amid the latest spiral.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
