Thailand-Cambodia border crisis continues with death toll rising
Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose, and there are calls for an “immediate ceasefire”.
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Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33 and Phnom Penh called for an “immediate ceasefire”.
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded.
In Thailand, the army said five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 -- 14 civilians and six military.
The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.
Both sides reported a clash around 5am local time Friday, with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing “five heavy artillery shells” into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand’s Trat province -- on the coast some 250 kilometres southwest of the main frontlines.
AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, near the ridge of forest-clad hills that marks the border and has seen the bulk of the fighting, heard the thump of artillery early Saturday afternoon.
A Thai villager reached by phone as he sheltered in a bunker in Sisaket province, just 10 kilometres from the frontier, also reported hearing artillery.
“I just want this to end as soon as possible,” Sutian Phiewchan told AFP. The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia.
After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia’s UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire -- unconditionally -- and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” he told reporters.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that for any ceasefire or talks to proceed, Cambodia needed to show “genuine sincerity in ending the conflict”.
“I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue,” Maris told reporters.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia.
Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members.
Both sides have blamed the other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.
Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions. Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- still an influential figure in the kingdom -- visited shelters on Saturday to meet evacuees.
“The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place,” Thaksin told reporters.
The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Hun Sen, Cambodia’s powerful ex-prime minister who was long a close ally.
“His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct,” Thaksin said of Hun Sen.
DFAT, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to Thailand, while higher levels apply to certain border areas near Cambodia due to armed conflict and landmines.
DFAT also advises against travel to Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces, and suggests reconsidering travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin, and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometre border.
Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
Relations between the neighbours soured dramatically when Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row.
The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn -- Thaksin’s daughter -- was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army.
She was suspended from office by a court order.
Here are five questions answered about the conflict between the neighbouring nations:
WHY IS THERE A BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN THAILAND AND CAMBODIA?
Thailand and Cambodia’s 800-kilometre-long border was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina between 1863 and the mid-1950s.
Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak has said the mapping agreed between the French and the Kingdom of Siam - encompassing Thailand’s current territory - remains the “crux of the problem” today.
In World War II, Siam gained certain Cambodian territories but was forced to hand them back to French rule in 1946.
The 1979 overthrow of Cambodia’s communist Khmer Rouge regime blurred the boundaries further as its last members fled to the border region for refuge.
Dozens of kilometres remain contested and in 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to the 900-year-old, UNESCO-recognised Preah Vihear temple, located on the border.
Sporadic violence from 2008 to 2011 led to the deaths of at least 28 people and displacement of tens of thousands.
WHY IS THE CONFLICT HAPPENING NOW?
The latest crisis began on May 28 when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, with both sides claiming they had acted in self-defence.
Restrictions were put on land border crossings and peace-seeking talks stalled.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after she was accused of appeasing Phnom Penh and undermining the Thai army in a leaked phone call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Five Thai military personnel were wounded in a landmine blast at the border this week, leading Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia.
Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, leaving at least 11 civilians dead and dozens wounded, according to the Thai public health ministry.
WILL IT GET WORSE?
Analysts have said the conflict reveals an uneasy mood in both nations. Political analyst Ou Virak has said Cambodia is “desperate to stand up to what could be perceived as bullying by a bigger neighbour”.
But he warned the “nationalist flame can easily be ignited and is very difficult to put out”.
In Thailand, analysts say the conflict is being fanned by longstanding tensions between the Shinawatra political dynasty and the Thai army, which has staged a dozen coups and remains immensely influential in periods of democratic rule.
“The border clash is likely to get worse” as the Thai army is effectively in charge of border policy, said Thitinan.
WHO IS TO BLAME?
Both sides maintain that the other attacked first.
Thailand’s government spokesman accused Cambodia of being “inhumane, brutal and war-hungry” and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”.
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s foreign ministry accused Thailand of “unprovoked military aggression” and the defence ministry said Cambodian soldiers only attacked military targets.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet claimed Thailand had already backed out of one proposed truce, saying in a statement he was awaiting Bangkok’s “genuine willingness” to de-escalate.
WHAT DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD SAY?
The armed conflict drew concern from China, Malaysia, the United States and France, with diplomats urging Phnom Penh and Bangkok to resolve their differences through dialogue.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) granted Phnom Penh sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple in 1962 and over a small patch of land surrounding it in 2013, but Thailand does not recognise its jurisdiction.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said last month that his government had filed a new complaint with the UN tribunal over four disputed areas, but Thailand has pushed to seek a solution through a nearly 30-year-old bilateral mechanism.
Hun Manet on Thursday requested the UN Security Council convene an “urgent meeting” over the cross-border fire with Thailand.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, “The least we can expect is for them to stand down and hopefully try to enter into negotiation,” said Anwar, whose country currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which includes Cambodia and Thailand.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said casualties were “deeply distressing” and called for the crisis to be “approached calmly and handled properly”.
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