By Amalia Theocharidou,
In July 2025, a deadly clash between Thailand and Cambodia happened, leading to the death of 12 Thai nationals (as the Cambodian numbers haven’t been disclosed). It all originated from an open fire incident at the borders, which sparked a series of similar incidents of border tensions and occasional deaths. In the most recent one, the Thai authorities are claiming that the Cambodian side launched drones in the Thai side, in order to spy and supervise its troops. But the tension escalated, when the first passed to the launching of rocket-propelled grenades against the second. The Thai side has been claiming that its soldiers tried repeatedly to settle down the other side by shouting and asking them to retaliate, but instead the Cambodians opened fire and destroyed public facilities, as well as homes. The Cambodian side is claiming that the Thai were the ones who initiated the fight, by claiming a Khmer-Hindu temple and putting wire around it, obviously breaking a previous agreement.
The Cambodian media have been claiming that their soldiers had every right to respond with the use of force, exercising the right to self-defence, after the pre-emptive act of Thailand. Even more, they stated that Thailand has been sending heavily armed troops in the Cambodian grounds. Lastly, the Prime Minister stated that they will “respond with armed force against armed aggression“. All the tension led to five days of aggression in the borders and the death of 43 people.
On the 4th of August, the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers met in Malaysia, in order to discuss the truce of the two countries. As we are now entering the period of negotiations, China, Malaysia and the USA have stated that they will be watching closely the negotiations, in order to make sure that the two sides will focus solely on that. The ceasefire has been announced on July 28th has been challenged many times by the mistrust between the two countries. As the Cambodian minister claimed, the Thai side didn’t respect the agreement and violated it with the use of excavators. Thailand’s military expert, Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, claimed that “there are reports that the Cambodian side has modified their positions and reinforced their troops in key areas… to replace personnel lost in each area“.
In response, the Cambodian side asked for a release of the soldiers that have been taken prisoners by Thailand. The second arrested a group of 20 soldiers in the 29th of July that surrendered disarmed and according to the strict provisions of International Humanitarial Law and the Geneva Conventions, they have been kept as prisoners of war. Col Richa Suksuwanon, Deputy Spokesperson for the Thai Army, stated that the prisoners have been treated well and they’ve not been subjects to any condemnation, but rather on the frame of the legal framework and they have fully their fundamental rights. Nevertheless, the Thai side claimed that they will be releasing them when there’s a full cessation of the aggression and not just a ceasefire.
References
- Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting at the border? BBC. Available here
- Thailand, Cambodia officials meet in Malaysia to cement ceasefire details. AlJazeera. Available here
- Cambodia and Thailand begin talks in Malaysia amid fragile ceasefire. Reuters. Available here
- Thai Army Clarifies Cambodian Soldiers’ Status as POWs After Border Clash. The Nation. Available here
