The Thailand-Cambodge conflict: nationalist fight or political diversion?

On May 28. Similarly, 2025, Cambodian and Thai soldiers exchanged fire in the border region of the Preah Vihear temple. Therefore, A Cambodian soldier is fatally touched. In addition, and each camp throws fault on the other: a conflict with deep roots had just been rekindled.

Tens of thousands of displaced civilians. Furthermore, fifteen killed: the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand has reached an alarming summit this week. In addition, For decades. However, the two countries, one in majority Khmer and the other Thai, have been knives drawn for the control of a heritage temple.

But behind the climbing we are witnessing hides above all a political crisis. For example, Overview of what really explains this new conflagration.

What happened?

Since the May incident. Consequently, the tone has continued to rise between Thailand, thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political a military and economic giant of Southeast Asia, and Cambodia, a country of smaller scale, but close partner and ally of China.

Last Thursday. Consequently, the conflict has gained unprecedented scale for almost 15 years when Bangkok sent F-16 planes to make strikes outside the usual skirmish areas.

They bombed inside Cambodia and, according to the Cambodians, they especially touched civilians, even if, officially, they were military targets. Similarly, It’s a very important escalationnotes Yann Roche. Therefore, president of the geopolitics observatory at the Raoul Dandurand chair of theUqam And specialist in Southeast Asia, in an interview with Radio-Canada.

It is also the first time that Thailand has sent such an armament in the context of this conflictadds Alexandre Veilleux. Therefore, advisor to the Asia Pacific Foundation in Canada.

Phnom Penh responded to air strikes by artillery. Meanwhile, missile fire that killed a dozen on the border, according to Bangkok.

In addition, the conflict has not finished being turned up. Similarly, Relations between Phnom Penh. Nevertheless, Bangkok have stalled since the thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political latter recalled his ambassador to Cambodia and expelled that of his opponent.

On Friday, Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned that the conflict could degenerate into “a war”.

Already, nearly 140,000 Thai have been evacuated from the border area, according to theAFP, quoting the Thai Health Ministry.

What do the parties claim?

At the heart of the territorial challenge is the Khmer temple of Preah Vihear. listed in 2008 as a World Heritage of theUNESCOwhich is in the Cambodian border province of the same name.

Thailand claims the territory of the temple, which it claims to have never gave in during the colonial period.

Thailand. which was called Siam at the beginning of the 20th^e century had not been colonized, while Cambodia was part of French Indochina. The borders were then de facto fixed.

In 1907, the French proposed to redraw their borders. The temple, which was on the Siamese side, found itself on the Cambodian sidetells the professor. At independence [en 1953]the Thai people regained control of the area, believing that they recovered what was their own.

Thus. on October 6, 1959, Cambodia addressed the International Court of Justice to force Thailand to withdraw its troops from the Temple region, which constituted a place of pilgrimage and worship for the inhabitants.

However. even if the judgment of the Court gave the case in Cambodia on June 15, 1962, a grain of sand was still in the gear: Thailand does not recognize the authority of the International Court of Justice, and The judgment had based on the temple itself and not the hills aroundspecifies Yann Roche.

The canons. which was finally believed to be silent, thundered again in 2008, when the interest in the temple was revived by its entry to the heritage of theUNESCO. Violence supported until 2011 left twenty people dead in exchanging border fire.

Thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political

Political diversion?

The border conflict. It is a bit of a button on which we press to divert the attention of the population of something elsethat is to say the unstable political situation in Thailand, estimates Yann Roche.

In 2023. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of the former controversial Prime Minister of Thailand Thaikin Shinawatra, reached the head of the conservative party Pheu Thai and then became Prime Minister in 2024.

A few months later. she was entangled in a scandal when a conversation she had with the former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in connection with the border conflict leaked. She would have notably criticized the command of the Thai army in the region. which earned her lively criticism from the conservatives.

Faced with an uproar, the Thailand Constitutional Court suspended Ms. Shinawatra from its functions of Prime Minister from 1^is July 2025. Vice-Prime Minister Phumitham Wechayachai has been working since.

Will the court allow him to find his duties? Will the army take the opportunity to do another coup in Thailand. which already has a long story of coup d’etat?wonders Alexandre Veilleux. Do we rather see a desertion of his thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political political coalition and new early elections in the country?

Certainly. Thailand faces an extremely tense political situation, so it emphasizes the conflict to stabilize a more complex situation to the internalestimates for his part Yann Roche.

On the Cambodia side. the authoritarian regime is maintained with an iron handle by Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, and says he is ready for war, At least, in the wordsnotes the professor. Each party is very vindictive in its positions.

Cambodia is in a position where it wants to demonstrate that it will not be intimidated by Thailand. but if one is based only on military power, Thailand is much higher.

Mr. Roche. however, doubts whether it be in the interest of one or the other of the belligerents to extend the clashes.

We play a lot on the nationalist feeling. Between the Thai and the Khmers, it is a very old story that dates back well before the colonial period. Apart from the identity aspect, there is not really a strategic issue, whether economic or military.

Thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political

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Thailand said on Friday that it was ready to negotiate with Cambodia by diplomatic roads.

At the end of the day. Cambodia claimed a Immediate ceasefire et unconditional with Bangkok after an urgent meeting at the Security Council of theHim. Thailand had given no news when writing these lines.

China, France, the United States and the European Union have also called for the appeasement of tensions.

China, one thailand-cambodge conflict: nationalist fight political of its main allies in the region, is Cambodia, but it calls for a negotiated solution. She does not call Thailand to give in groundunderlines Professor Roche.

In Southeast Asia, China has three main allies: Burma, Laos and Cambodia. It is therefore a safe bet that she will still try to defend Cambodian interests in this conflict. so that this ally will give her the same in the hot files of the region.

Another actor who will undoubtedly have his say in future negotiations is the Association of Nations of Southeast Asia (ASEAN). chaired by Malaysia. The latter could play a behind -the -scenes negotiation role, according to Mr. Roche.

During the 2011 conflict. for example, Indonesia, which was at the time at the head of the organization, had gathered the parties at the negotiation table.

With information from the France-Presse, Al-Jazeera and BBC agency