Tensions flared once again on the Cambodia-Thailand border as military forces from both nations exchanged gunfire on Thursday in a disputed frontier region.
This marks the latest escalation in a long-standing territorial conflict that has seen repeated outbreaks of violence in recent months.
The Cambodian Ministry of Defense and the Royal Thai Army traded accusations over who instigated the clash. Each side blamed the other for initiating the gunfire in the contested border zone, reigniting fears of broader conflict in the sensitive area.
Thursday's confrontation took place near two ancient temples situated along the border between Thailand’s Surin Province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province.
A Cambodian government official told Agence France-Presse that the skirmish began early in the morning, intensifying fears of further escalation.
The renewed violence follows a deadly exchange in May near the so-called Emerald Triangle, a region where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos converge.
That incident resulted in the death of a Cambodian soldier, sparking a series of retaliatory actions and a tightening of cross-border controls. In its aftermath, Thailand imposed restrictions on border crossings, while Cambodia suspended certain imports from its neighbor.
On Wednesday, Thailand expelled Cambodia’s ambassador and recalled its envoy from Phnom Penh after a Thai soldier lost a leg in a landmine explosion near the disputed area. The move signaled a significant deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two Southeast Asian nations.
In an official statement on Thursday, Cambodian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Mealy Socheata accused Thailand of violating Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
She stated that the Thai military launched an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend national sovereignty, prompting what she called a legitimate act of self-defense under international law.
The Royal Thai Army presented a different version of events. It said the incident began around 7:35 a.m. local time when a Thai unit stationed near the Ta Muen Temple detected a Cambodian drone overhead. Shortly after, six armed Cambodian soldiers, one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, approached the border fence.
Thai forces reportedly issued verbal warnings, but by 8:20 a.m., Cambodian troops had allegedly opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple, about 200 meters from a Thai military base.
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