Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodian forces Thursday in the most severe border crisis in years, with both countries recalling ambassadors and closing frontier crossings as fighting spread across multiple provinces surrounding contested temple sites that have triggered nationalist fervor in both nations, , marking a dramatic escalation in border tensions that threatens to spiral into the most serious conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbors in decades.
CNN reported the airstrikes followed a series of deadly incidents, including a Thai soldier losing his leg to a landmine explosion just one day earlier.
The Thai military's 2nd regional command announced on Facebook that F-16 fighter jets had been deployed and claimed to have "destroyed" two Cambodian regional military support units, according to CNN. Deputy Army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanont stated the airstrikes targeted only military positions, though Cambodian officials had not immediately confirmed the attacks.
Armed confrontations broke out along the disputed frontier early Thursday morning when Thai forces said Cambodian troops opened fire on a Thai army base near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple, which sits in contested territory between Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's northwest region, CNN reported. Thai officials accused Cambodia of deploying an unmanned drone before the temple and then sending armed troops into the area.
The fighting spread beyond the temple site as Cambodian forces allegedly fired heavy weapons into civilian areas of Thailand's Kap Choeng district in Surin province. "The attack injured three civilians. Thai authorities have promptly evacuated residents from the area to ensure the safety of lives and property," the Thai military stated.
Cambodia's Defense Ministry offered a sharply different account, with Lieutenant General Maly Socheata claiming their troops acted in self-defense following an unprovoked Thai incursion. "Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defense, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity," Socheata explained to CNN.
Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote on Facebook that Thailand had attacked Cambodian army positions at two temple locations in Oddar Meanchey province, as well as sites in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province and Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province. "Cambodia has always maintained a position of peaceful resolution of problems, but in this case, we have no choice but to respond with armed force against armed aggression," the Prime Minister declared while urging Cambodian citizens to remain calm.
The escalation injured at least two Thai soldiers Thursday, while three civilians were wounded in the crossfire, according to CNN. Two hospitals in Thailand's Surin province began evacuating patients as fighting continued near the clash sites, Thailand's ministry of public health confirmed.
Thursday's armed confrontation followed a devastating incident just one day earlier when a second Thai soldier in a week lost his leg to a landmine explosion at a different point along the disputed border. Five Thai soldiers were injured in that blast, prompting Thailand to immediately downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia by recalling its ambassador from Phnom Penh and expelling the Cambodian ambassador, CNN reported.
Thailand also closed sections of its northeastern border to both local residents and tourists as tensions reached their breaking point. Cambodia responded by announcing it had downgraded relations with Thailand "to the lowest level" and ordered all diplomatic staff to return home immediately.
The current crisis builds on mounting tensions that began in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in the contested Emerald Triangle region where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos converge. Both sides opened fire in that incident, which has since triggered major political consequences for Thailand and inflamed nationalist sentiment in both countries, according to CNN.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra now faces potential dismissal after being suspended from duties earlier this month following the leak of a phone call with Cambodia's powerful former leader in which she appeared to criticize her own army's actions in the border dispute. The leaked conversation has added domestic political turmoil to the international crisis.
The two nations share a complex relationship marked by both cooperation and rivalry across recent decades. Their 508-mile (817-kilometer) land border was largely mapped by French colonial authorities during their occupation of Cambodia, creating boundary lines that have periodically sparked military clashes and political tensions between the neighbors.
