Behind Cambodia-Thailand flare-ups lie deep-seated political rivalries and gambling
After four days of brutal armed confrontation along the Cambodia-Thailand border, the prime ministers of both countries agreed on Monday, July 28, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to observe a ceasefire starting at midnight. The meeting was held under the auspices of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Bangkok was represented by Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting prime minister since the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in June. Phumtham is a close associate of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who returned from exile in 2024 and father of Paetongtarn. (In Thailand, leaders are referred to by their first names.) Hun Manet, the Cambodian prime minister who traveled to Kuala Lumpur and is the son of Cambodia's longtime strongman Hun Sen, welcomed a solution "to move forward." July 28 also marks the birthday of the Thai king, Rama X, making it a symbolically significant date in this kingdom rife with political rivalries. Celebrations in Bangkok have been suspended.
US President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Saturday evening with the prime ministers of both countries, and claimed credit for securing a ceasefire by telling them: "We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war." Nevertheless, artillery fire was heard again at dawn on Sunday: a 59-year-old Thai man was killed at his home in Sisaket Province by a Cambodian BM-21 rocket – also called "Stalin's organs" – whose unexpected use by Cambodian forces on July 24 gave this long-running border conflict a new dimension. Thailand reported 22 deaths, including eight soldiers, while Cambodia confirmed 13 deaths, including five soldiers, following Thai retaliatory strikes. Thailand evacuated 139,000 people, compared to 35,000 in Cambodia.
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