Thailand, Cambodia Trade Accusations of Violating Ceasefire
The escalation follows a five-day military confrontation in July that ended only after President Donald Trump intervened to broker a fragile truce between the countries, whose boundary feud stretches back more than 50 years.
Thailand's Royal Thai Army reported that hostilities resumed Sunday when Cambodian forces allegedly fired first on Thai personnel stationed in Ubon Ratchathani province along the eastern frontier. The exchange left one Thai soldier dead and four injured, military officials said. Subsequent assaults targeted Anupong Base with artillery barrages and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the army's account.
By Monday, Thailand had escalated its military response. Royal Thai Air Force spokesman Air Marshal Jackkrit Thammavichai confirmed F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to "reduce Cambodia's military capabilities to the minimum level necessary to safeguard national security and protect civilians."
Cambodia's Defense Ministry rejected Thailand's version of events entirely. Spokeswoman Lieutenant General Maly Socheata countered late Sunday that Thai forces initiated multiple assaults on Cambodian defensive positions using small arms, mortar fire, and armored vehicles. "The Thai side also falsely accused Cambodia without any basis, despite the fact that Cambodian forces did not retaliate at all," she said. The ministry also dismissed Thai allegations of Cambodian military reinforcements massing near the contested frontier.
The territorial dispute traces its origins to the colonial era, when France—which governed Cambodia until 1953—demarcated boundaries between the two nations. July's warfare claimed dozens of lives and forced over 200,000 civilians from their homes on both sides of the border.
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