Listen to the article
By Sean Rayment
Thailand has deployed F-16 fighter jets to bomb a casino and an alleged drone base in Cambodia, weeks after the US brokered a peace deal between the two countries.
The airstrikes were launched on Monday after each side accused the other of breaking the fragile ceasefire. US President Donald Trump had previously claimed the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia as one of the eight wars he had “ended”.
Thailand’s military said the airstrikes were launched after one of its soldiers was killed and four others wounded in fighting along the tense border on Monday morning. The Thai air force said it was striking military targets in several areas and accused Cambodia of mobilising heavy weaponry and repositioning combat units.
Cambodia’s defence ministry blamed Thailand for the escalation, saying Thai forces had attacked its troops on Monday and that Cambodia had not retaliated, despite what it described as “provocative actions for many days”.
Four Cambodian civilians were killed in Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces, according to Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra.
Six weeks ago, Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement he brokered to end a five-day war that erupted in July. At least 48 people were killed in the conflict and 300,000 were forced to flee their homes.
Tensions have remained high despite the ceasefire agreement, with both sides accusing each other of violations and Thailand announcing in November that it was suspending the deal.
Gen Chaiyapruek Duangprapat, the Thai army’s chief of staff, said Thailand was seeking to cripple Cambodia’s military capability with the aim of neutralising it as a long-term threat.
Cambodia’s former prime minister Hun Sen, who remains hugely influential and is the father of the current leader, Hun Manet, urged the country’s forces to exercise restraint, although he accused Thailand of trying to “pull us into retaliation”.
“The red line for responding has already been set. I urge commanders at all levels to educate all officers and soldiers accordingly,” Hun Sen said in a Facebook post.
Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said in a televised address that the country did not want violence and denied initiating the conflict. “However, Thailand will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty and will proceed rationally and with due regard for the principles of peace, security and humanity,” he said.
More than 385,000 civilians have been ordered to evacuate from border areas across four provinces, according to Thai authorities, who said about 50,000 people had already moved to shelters.
The Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who helped broker the original ceasefire, urged both countries to avoid escalation, warning that the fighting risked “unravelling the careful work that has gone into stabilising relations between the two neighbours”.
“We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint, maintain open channels of communication and make full use of the mechanisms in place,” said Anwar, who currently chairs the regional bloc Asean, in an online post.
Tensions increased in May when troops exchanged fire briefly at a contested area, killing a Cambodian soldier. This led to a series of tit-for-tat actions by both governments and escalated into conflict in July. A ceasefire was eventually agreed after intervention by Trump, who warned that trade talks would be suspended without a peace deal, as well as through diplomatic efforts by Malaysia and China.
However, the arrangement has remained fragile. Last month, Thailand said it was suspending the ceasefire deal after accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the border, including one that wounded a Thai soldier who lost a foot in the explosion.
A Cambodian civilian was later killed and three others wounded, according to Cambodia’s prime minister, after both sides accused each other of opening fire. At the time, Trump, who has used trade negotiations to pressure both sides, played down the incidents, saying he had “stopped a war” through the use of tariffs, adding: “I think they’re gonna be fine.”
The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century, to when France, which occupied Cambodia until 1953, first mapped the land border.
Conflict over the 508-mile (817km) border has erupted repeatedly over the years, fanned by nationalist sentiment.
Asked about Trump’s intervention and Anwar’s call for restraint, Anutin told reporters that no one should tell his country to “exercise restraint or to stop – we’re long past that point”.
“If you want things to stop, tell the aggressor to stop,” he added.
