Cambodian workers in Thailand caught in crossfire of nationalist war
From Cambodian cassava being blocked for sale in
Thailand to a ban on Thai fuel flowing the other way, a border spat stoked by nationalists on both sides has left more than one million Cambodians working in Thailand exposed to a damaging fallout.
Over 5,000 Cambodian workers returned each day last week, fearing border closures and a growing nationalist enmity inside Thailand, Cambodian officials have said.
On Monday, Hun Manet,
Cambodia 's prime minister and the scion of the
Hun Sen dynasty, which has dominated the country for over three decades, visited a temporary camp at a border area pagoda in Preah Vihear province in support of returned migrant workers.
'Cambodia doesn't want to see war break out because we're used to swimming across it,' Manet posted on his Facebook page. 'But we can't stand to be abused.'
The row began in late May after a Cambodian soldier was shot dead by Thai troops in a firefight that Bangkok said was triggered by an incursion on Thai soil – a claim denied by Cambodia.
Traders including from Cambodia gather at the Ban Laem border area in Thailand's Chanthaburi province. Photo: Loeung Sophon
Since then, leaders of the two countries have traded allegations, closed borders and stopped the flow of certain goods, while citizens in both nations urge boycotts and trade insults online.
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Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Advertisement Your June 2 article , 'Cambodia to file complaint with ICJ over Thai border dispute that left 1 soldier dead', rightly draws attention to a serious issue facing both our nations. The unprovoked shooting by a Thai soldier on May 28 that led to the tragic death of a Cambodian soldier occurred near Techo Morokot village in Preah Vihear province, close to the historic Preah Vihear Temple, in a sector long administered by Cambodia. It is one of four zones administered by Cambodia but still subject to Thai claims despite clear legal foundations. Cambodia responded to this tragedy not with escalation but with restraint and principle, proposing that both nations submit the matter jointly to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). When that offer was declined, Cambodia chose to proceed with the ICJ independently, openly and in accordance with international law. The ICJ exists precisely to adjudicate such disputes. Cambodia's decision to approach the ICJ is not about reviving historical grievances or fanning nationalist flames. It is about preventing further loss of life, safeguarding regional stability and strengthening the rules-based order in Southeast Asia. The people who live along our shared frontier, Cambodians and Thais alike, are the ones most directly affected. When tensions rise, cross-border trade suffers, livelihoods are disrupted and fear takes hold. The ICJ has ruled on this frontier before, and Cambodia respects that process. In 1962, the court determined that the Preah Vihear Temple lies on Cambodian territory, relying in part on a map drawn by French surveyors in 1907 and later formally acknowledged by Thai officials, who have used this map without objection for years. In 2013, the court reaffirmed Cambodia's sovereignty over the temple and clarified that it includes the surrounding area necessary for access and protection. These legal principles continue to guide Cambodia's peaceful approach today. Advertisement Notably, Cambodia is not producing rival maps or engaging in political grandstanding. We continue to rely on legal norms and remain open to technical cooperation in non-contested areas.
