Thailand’s navy has joined its army in fighting Cambodian forces on a new front in a disputed border region, as the death toll from the escalating armed conflict between the two countries rose to at least 30, according to media reports and officials.
The naval involvement came early on Saturday after Cambodian forces made incursions at three different points inside Thailand’s eastern Trat province, according to a statement from the Thai defence ministry. It said Thai marines had successfully pushed back the Cambodian soldiers.
“Thailand stands firm in the defence of its sovereignty. Any aggression will not be tolerated,” the ministry said.
The fighting, which has forced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides to evacuate, now spans multiple locations along the border. Thailand reported on Friday that clashes had occurred in its Surin, Ubon Ratchathani, and Srisaket provinces.
Thailand has accused Cambodia of firing on civilian areas and has evacuated all villages believed to be within range of its rockets. Cambodia, in turn, has accused Thailand of using cluster munitions, which are banned in most parts of the world due to their indiscriminate impact on civilians. Thailand has not responded to the allegation.
Amid the escalating violence, which entered its third day on Saturday, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting in New York on Friday. Malaysia, which currently chairs the 10-nation ASEAN regional bloc that includes both Thailand and Cambodia, has called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate.
A diplomat on the Security Council told Politico that all 15 members had called for calm, restraint, and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and had urged ASEAN to assist.
“We have called for an immediate ceasefire, without preconditions, and have also called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Cambodia’s U.N. ambassador, Sea Ky, told reporters after the meeting. In response to accusations that Cambodia initiated the attacks, he said: “How can a small country with no air force attack a country three times its size in military strength? We do not do that.”
MASS EVACUATIONS AND DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS
The fighting has triggered mass evacuations. Thailand’s health ministry said on Friday that more than 58,000 people had fled their villages to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces. Cambodian authorities announced that over 23,000 people had been evacuated from areas near the border.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, said on Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of “war crimes” due to civilian casualties and the destruction of a hospital.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday that both Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to a ceasefire and a withdrawal of troops, but had requested more time for implementation, according to Malaysia’s Bernama news agency. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also called for restraint and dialogue.
The current clashes erupted after a landmine explosion on Wednesday injured five Thai soldiers. It is the second major armed confrontation since a Cambodian soldier was shot and killed in May, an incident which led to both countries downgrading diplomatic relations.
ROOTS OF THE CONFLICT
The border dispute is rooted in colonial-era maps from the early 20th century, based on differing interpretations of treaties that defined the border between Thailand (then Siam) and Cambodia, which was part of French Indochina.
Sovereignty over several areas remains a point of contention. The 11th-century Preah Vihear temple has been a major flashpoint over the years. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, a decision it reaffirmed in 2013 after deadly clashes between the two armies in 2011.
Thailand has a significantly larger and better-funded military than Cambodia. It has a force of 360,000 active personnel compared to Cambodia’s 124,000, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and its annual military spending is four to five times greater.
THAI POLITICAL CRISIS
The conflict has also become entangled with a political crisis in Thailand. The country’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty earlier in July amid an ethics investigation into her handling of the border dispute.
The probe was launched after a leaked phone call in June with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, in which she allegedly blamed the Thai military for the escalating border standoff. The remarks sparked protests and calls for her resignation in Thailand. Her government was further weakened after the second-largest party in her ruling coalition withdrew, leaving her with a slim parliamentary majority.
