The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia

The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over a number of sacred sites on their shared border has been in the news over the past week. It’s the latest flare up of violence in a dispute that’s been going on for more than a century… So in this Squiz Shortcut, we’ll take a look at:

• the history of the conflict

• the events of the past week

• and the push to resolve it…

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Squiz the Shortcut

Let’s get our bearings, where exactly are Thailand and Cambodia?
Like lots of Aussies, you might be familiar with these countries from your holidays, but what you might not know is that they’ve been arguing for ages over the land and some sacred sites along their shared border… So, both countries are in Southeast Asia. Cambodia sits to the east of Thailand below Laos, and reports say it’s where the border meets Laos that there’s an area of particular importance to both of them, known as the Emerald Triangle… 

Sounds pretty
It is… It’s a region that takes in the jungle-covered Dângrêk Mountains that form a natural divide between Thailand and Cambodia. On those mountains sit a number of ancient Hindu temples that were built in the era of the Khmer Empire, which lasted from the 9th to the 15th century. 

Are they famous?
You might’ve heard of them - they draw lots of tourists from around the world, for both spiritual and historical reasons… Two of particular significance are Prasat Ta Muen Thom and Preah Vihear which are about 150km apart in the mountains. But all the temples in the region are seen as holy sites of worship and they hold enormous cultural and religious significance for the people of both countries - and both lay claim to them…

That’s problematic…
Exactly… There have been decades of arguments over where the border should lie and who owns the temples. And last week, fighting broke out at a number of those holy sites - including the 2 we just mentioned - between armed troops patrolling the border.

Was anyone killed?
Reports say at least 32 people died in the fighting and around 300,000 people were forced to leave their homes. 

So, when did this all start?
As we mentioned, the conflict goes back more than a hundred years. From the mid 1800s, parts of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were colonised by the French and combined into what was known as French Indochina. And in 1907 the French drew a map placing the Preah Vihear Temple inside Cambodian territory.

Why is the temple so special to Cambodians?
It's a symbol of national pride that harks back to the ancient Khmer Empire they come from, and it was a key worship stop back in the day on the Khmer highway leading to their capital Angkor.

And where is the border now?
It’s the same as on that map. It was challenged by Thailand in the International Court of Justice in the 1960s but the court ruled in Cambodia’s favour to uphold the status quo. In 2013, it repeated that ruling and ordered Thai forces to leave the area.

Did Thailand accept that decision?
No. It still claims to own the land around the temple… Complicating things even more, the people who live in the contested region speak both Khmer, which is Cambodia’s official language, and also Thai… So it shows how much the 2 cultures are blended. 

Is the border well marked?
Nope… It’s poorly marked through the jungle, which has led to skirmishes between patrolling troops from both sides - and there have been a number of serious flare ups of violence over the years about the land.

When was the last one?
The last big one was in 2011, and it stemmed from when Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. At least 20 people were killed and thousands of people were displaced from homes around the holy sites… 

So how did the fighting start this time?
Tensions between the sides have been building for months, but things escalated after gunfire was exchanged between the border patrol troops on Thursday last week.

Who started it?
That’s disputed… Cambodia’s de facto leader Hun Sen said that a Thai military commander “started this war” by ordering the closure of Preah Vihear and opening fire on Cambodian troops. But Thailand has denied that. It says Cambodian troops fired first and it’s accused them of firing rockets into civilian areas in 4 provinces. The Thai government then retaliated…

What did it do?
It ordered airstrikes on what it said were military targets. But Cambodia reckons the strikes targeted Preah Vihear, and that the temple had been “significantly” damaged as a result. They called it “both a cultural disaster and a moral tragedy”.

Is that when the situation started attracting attention?
Yep… International leaders were quick to step in and call for calm. One of those was US President Donald Trump. He spoke to the leaders on both sides and said he convinced them to negotiate a ceasefire - and his main tactic for that was to warn them that continuing the fighting would have cost them economically.

How so?
He threatened to stall trade talks with either country if the fighting continued, and given both countries are said to badly need trade deals to go through for their economic survival, that threat held some weight…

And did they reach an agreement?
Yep… Cambodian PM Hun Manet and the Acting PM of Thailand Phumtham Wechayachai agreed to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire after a meeting in Malaysia… But there’s still a lot of work to be done to nut out their differences and assure the huge number of displaced people on both sides of the border that it’s safe to go home. The dispute has also had a wider political impact in Thailand…

Tell me about that…
We mentioned the current PM of Thailand is the Acting PM. It’s because the previous PM, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was suspended by Thailand’s constitutional court earlier this month because of leaked comments she made about the border dispute during a phone call with Hun Sen, the Cambodian de facto leader we mentioned before. And there’s a history between those 2…

What are their ties?
Her father is Thaksin Shina-watt, the PM of Thailand between 2001 and 2006. He had a long-term friendship with Hun Sen that helped to hold the relationship between the 2 countries together, even though it’s been strained for decades… 

What did she say on the phone call?
Paetongtarn was heard calling Hun Sen “uncle”, and she criticised a Thai military officer. That didn’t sit well with the Thai people, who took to the streets in their thousands to protest about it. She’s since apologised for what she said, but it didn’t do much to stop people calling for her to be sacked… 

Is that likely to happen?
The court has suspended her while it decides her political fate. But reports say a final decision could take months, so that’ll be something to keep an eye on… 

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Onto our Recommendations

Reading: If you’d like to learn more about the political elements of the conflict, this article in The Guardian is a good deep dive into those… 

Reading: If you’re a lucky duck with travel plans that involve Thailand or Cambodia, the Aussie Government’s Smart Traveller website is a good one to keep an eye on. There are currently warnings in place to give that border area a wide berth due to risks of military action and landmines.

Email us: While we’ve got you, we’re planning a fresh episode of Ask the Squiz, so we’re putting the call out for your questions about the news… If you’ve got anything you’d like explained by Claire and Andrew, please get in touch with us at [email protected] - we love getting your questions.

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