Cambodia will start military conscription next year as tensions with Thailand persist
Relations between the neighbors have deteriorated sharply following an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed in one of several small contested patches of land.
The sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute to avoid further clashes, but continue to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions high, alongside exchanging sharp words.
The dispute has also roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after making what critics saw as a disparaging comment about her country's military in a phone call to Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who leaked a recording of it.
Hun Manet, Hun Sen's son and successor, said that starting in 2026, an existing law on conscription would be implemented to fill shortages and upgrade the military's capabilities.
'This is our commitment,' Hun Manet said in a speech to military forces in the northern province of Kampong Chhnang. He wore his military uniform displaying his rank of a four-star general.
Hun Manet said that soldiers joining the ranks through conscription were more effective than a voluntary force and at least as professional.
The conscription law was passed in 2006, but never activated. Cambodians of both sexes, aged 18 to 30, must serve but for women, service is voluntary.
Thailand has long implemented conscription for men reaching 20 years of age, with an annual lottery determining who among them is called up.
The CIA's World Factbook estimates Cambodia's armed forces total 200,000 personnel, including a large force of military police. It says Thailand has 350,000 active-duty personnel in its armed forces.
Hun Manet also called for increasing the military budget. Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, with a $9.32 billion national budget for 2025, out of which the biggest share, $739 million, went for defense.
He also repeated calls for Thailand to reopen without conditions all border crossings it had closed, saying that Cambodia would reciprocate within hours.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Thailand, Cambodia exchange heavy artillery as fighting expands for second day
SURIN, Thailand, July 25 (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire for a second day on Friday as their worst fighting in over a decade intensified and spread to new areas, despite international calls for a ceasefire. At least 16 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the escalating border battle. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the conflict and on Friday ratcheted up the rhetoric, with Thailand accusing Cambodia of deliberately targeting civilians and Cambodia alleging Thailand was using cluster munitions, a controversial and widely condemned ordnance. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said Cambodia had launched attacks on multiple fronts and Thailand was defending its territory. "The current situation involves acts of intrusion and aggression that are causing harm to the people's lives. The situation has intensified and could escalate into a state of war. At present, it's a confrontation involving heavy weapons," he told reporters. Fighting re-erupted before dawn, with clashes reported in 12 locations, up from six on Thursday, according to Thailand's military, which accused Cambodia of using artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket systems to target areas that included schools and hospitals. "These barbaric acts have senselessly claimed lives and inflicted injuries upon numerous innocent civilians," the Thai military said in a statement. More: Thailand F-16 jet bombs Cambodian targets as border clash escalates It described Cambodia's bombardment as "appalling attacks", putting the blame squarely on the Phnom Penh government, which it said was being led by Hun Sen, the influential former premier of nearly four decades and father of current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. "The deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime, and those responsible must be brought to justice," the Thai military added. LOUD EXPLOSIONS The fighting started early on Thursday, quickly escalating from small arms fire to heavy shelling in multiple areas 210 km (130 miles) apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century. The trigger was Thailand's recalling of its ambassador to Phnom Penh and expulsion of Cambodia's envoy on Wednesday, in response to a second Thai soldier losing a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently by rival troops. Cambodia has dismissed that as baseless. Cambodia's defence ministry and its government's landmine authority condemned what they said was Thailand's use of a large amount of cluster munitions, calling it a violation of international law. The foreign ministry of Thailand, which is not among the more than 100 signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters journalists in Thailand's Surin province saw a Thai military convoy that included about a dozen trucks, armoured vehicles and tanks cut across provincial roads ringed by paddy fields as it moved toward the border. Intermittent bursts of explosions could be heard amid a heavy presence of armed troops. Soldiers marshalled traffic on a rural road along which artillery guns were being loaded and fired in succession, emitting orange flashes followed by loud explosions and grey smoke. More than 130,000 people have been evacuated from conflict areas in Thailand, where the death toll rose to 15 as of early Friday, 14 of those civilians, according to the health ministry. It said 46 people were wounded, including 15 soldiers. 'WE WERE SO SCARED' More evacuees arrived at shelters in Surin province, fleeing their homes after hearing the booms of shelling. "We heard very loud explosions, so we came here. We were so scared," said Aung Ying Yong, 67, wiping away her tears with a towel. "So many people are in trouble because of this war … we are very sad that we have to live like this." Cambodia's national government has provided no details on casualties or evacuations and did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. An official from Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province said one civilian had been killed and five wounded, with 1,500 families evacuated. Thailand had on Thursday mobilised an F-16 fighter jet in a rare combat deployment, which carried out an air strike on a Cambodian military target, among measures Cambodia called "reckless and brutal military aggression" in its appeal for the United Nations Security Council to address the issue. Thailand's use of an F-16 underlines its military advantage over Cambodia, which has no fighter aircraft and significantly less defence hardware and personnel. The United States, a long-time treaty ally of Thailand, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, as did Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, who said he had spoken to leaders of both countries and urged them to find a peaceful way out. "I welcome the positive signals and willingness shown by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh to consider this path forward," he said on social media. But Thailand's foreign ministry said on Friday it has rejected mediation efforts from third countries after offers to facilitate dialogue from the United States, China and Malaysia, "We stand by our position that bilateral mechanism is the best way out," foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told Reuters in an interview. (Reporting by Shoon Naing and Artorn Pookasook in Surin, Thailand, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Panu Wongcha-um and Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok, Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi and Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Time Magazine
4 hours ago
- Time Magazine
The Thai-Cambodia Fight Is About More Than Territory
Look around the world and there are remarkably few countries without a territorial dispute. Without wanting to trivialize egregious breaches of sovereignty like the invasion of Ukraine, most are undeniably petty. China's beef with Japan over the Senkaku (or Diaoyu) Islands, for instance, regularly sparks diplomatic, military, and economic standoffs costing billions of dollars over a far-flung islet measuring 2.7 sq mi. Then there is Canada and Greenland's beef over the uninhabited Hans Island, a barren spit in the Kennedy Channel. Or even Uganda and Kenya's spat over Lake Victoria's Migingo Island, which is smaller than a football field. Clearly a significant number of territorial squabbles exist simply to provide a jingoistic distraction, an excuse to rally around the flag or challenge the patriotism of a political rival. And while they can flare up organically, prolonged skirmishes are typically stoked with a clear purpose. Which is why policy analysts are scratching their heads about what exactly lies behind the escalating border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. On Thursday, fighting erupted again near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple, located in a border area in northwestern Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 civilians and a soldier in Thailand, which dispatched a F-16 to bomb Cambodian targets in response. As fighting spread to at least six areas along the arcane frontier, Thailand's military closed crossings between the countries. The fighting spurred at least 40,000 civilians from more than 80 villages near the border to flee to makeshift bomb shelters of sandbags and car tires. Both countries have issued statements accusing the other of instigating the violence. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has requested an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council in response, saying the clashes 'gravely threatened peace in the region.' Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned the conflict 'could develop into war.' Of course, trouble at the 508-mile (817 km) shared border is nothing new. For over a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points in the thick jungle punctuated with culturally-significant temples albeit with scant strategic or economic value. But what makes the current flare-up most bamboozling is that it pits two of Southeast Asia's most formidable and, until recently, closest aligned families against each other. When border tensions first flared up last month, Thailand's then-Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, called up Cambodia's 72-year-old former strongman Hun Sen—Hun Manet's father—to soothe tensions. However, Hun Sen leaked their June 15 phone call, during which Paetongtarn adopted a subservient tone and criticized one of her own generals, leading to her suspension by Thailand's constitutional court pending an ethics investigation after 10,000 people took to the street demanding her resignation. Read More: Who Could Be Thailand's Next Prime Minister? Scenarios, Explained 'The Thai government and the Shinawatras were gobsmacked when Hun Sen leaked that very damaging phone recording,' says Phil Robertson, the Bangkok-based director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates. 'He really threw down the gauntlet.' It was a Shakespearean betrayal given Hun Sen had for decades been thick as thieves with Paetongtarn's 75-year-old father, Thai political patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra, whom he had once described as his 'god brother.' After Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup, Hun Sen appointed him as an economic advisor to the Cambodian government and they often golfed together. Following the putsch that removed Thaksin's sister Yingluck as Prime Minister in 2014, routed Shinawatra supporters were granted sanctuary in Cambodia. Thaksin and Yingluck both stayed at Hun Sen's house for his 72nd birthday party in August 2023. When Thaksin returned to Thailand from exile last year, Hun Sen was the first foreign leader to visit him. Before Paetongtarn became Prime Minister, she led a delegation to Phnom Penh in March last year to meet with Hun Sen, who still serves as leader of the Cambodian People's Party. But beginning last month, Hun Sen began posting unhinged messages accusing Thaksin of 'betraying' him and threatening to expose his treasonous actions, including undermining Thailand's sacrosanct monarchy. 'Since Thaksin became involved in Thai politics, Thailand has been in great turmoil, starting before the 2006 coup,' Hun Sen posted on Facebook on July 20. 'I also do not want to bring up the severe insults you directed at the Thai monarchy—those words were too vile for me to repeat, as they would only tarnish the dignity of the Thai King. But you acknowledge that they are true.' Thailand has some of the world's harshest royal defamation laws—known as lese-majeste, or Article 112—and so accusing Thaksin of insulting the monarch is the local equivalent of Elon Musk tweeting that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. 'It got personal,' says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. 'He really went off the boil.' What sparked everything off is now indisputable. On May 28, some Cambodian soldiers were carousing by Ta Moan Thom Temple when they encountered some of their Thai peers. Although things occasionally get testy along the shared border, relations had been for the most part cordial, with both sides camping side-by-side, sharing singalongs and games of Takraw, a form of foot volleyball. However, when the Cambodians began boisterously belting out the Khmer national anthem, the Thai soldiers objected. Shots were exchanged, and one Cambodian was killed. Paetongtarn specifically referenced this incident in her leaked phone call, and you'd imagine it would be easy for two friendly leaders to smooth things over. But a few factors clearly incentivized Hun Sen to drag out the spat. For one, the Cambodian economy is not doing well, and Hun Sen may spy an opportunity for his unpopular son to demonstrate his leadership chops. Additionally, Hun Sen may want a diversion from recent scrutiny on Cambodia's illicit businesses—including casinos, human trafficking, and scam centers—which according to some estimates account for up to 40% of GDP. Hun Manet's failure to deal with the 'scamdemic,' as the U.N. has dubbed it, has even led to calls for Cambodia to be added to a U.S. visa blacklist. Compounding matters, Paetongtarn's government was making moves towards legalizing gambling in Thailand, which would undercut a key revenue stream for the Hun family and Cambodia more broadly. (Though such moves have been mooted for many years and never caused friction previously.) Some analysts have even suggested that Hun Sen has been enlisted by Thailand's elites to finally topple the Shinawatra family, which remains reviled by royalists for its populist adulation amongst rural voters. However, Thitinan is unconvinced about any grand conspiracy. 'They don't need help to get rid of the Shinawatras,' he says. 'Paetongtarn was already in big trouble.' In the meantime, Paetongtarn's suspension leaves a perilous power vacuum in Thailand. The country only has an acting Prime Minister and acting defense minister, meaning authority over border matters has effectively been handed to an aggrieved and wounded armed forces. 'This is a dangerous recipe,' says Thitinan. 'On one hand, you have the Thai Army in charge. On the other hand, you have Hun Sen, who is going to keep provoking things.' It's uncertain what an off-ramp might look like. On Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Abrahim spoke to both sides in his capacity as current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and praised 'positive signals and willingness' to halt the bloodshed. However, since Anwar is also known as being close to Thaksin, whom he previously appointed as an adviser on Myanmar, it's unclear whether Hun Sen will trust his impartiality. And with the U.S. completely checked out from regional diplomacy under Trump, it may fall to China—which holds huge sway in Cambodia and is close to the Thai military—to broker an accord. But aside from boosting Beijing's regional clout, the spat will undoubtedly be damaging for both sides. For one, Thailand looks weak and riven. Previously war-torn Cambodia, meanwhile, has long served as a posterchild for the scourge of landmines and has received over half-a-billion dollars from foreign donors toward purging the over 6 million that once littered its emerald landscape, including $208 million from the U.S. alone since 1993. But revelations that five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by newly laid Cambodian landmines on Wednesday afternoon has outraged the international community. 'That's very, very damaging for Cambodia,' says Robertson. 'They want to fight it out, but at the end of the day, both sides are going to end up with a tarnished reputation.' Even the petty can have a high price.
Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Deadly Border Clashes Pressure Thai Premier, Boost Military
By Updated on Save Thailand's military conflict with Cambodia is inflaming nationalist tensions at home and threatening embattled leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who had already been suspended as prime minister for her handling of the border dispute. Hours after Thai fighter jets struck Cambodian military positions and Phnom Penh hit civilian areas in the deadliest clashes in over a decade, Thai nationalist groups announced plans for an anti-government rally in Bangkok on Sunday, though they subsequently pushed it back to Aug. 2. Hashtags supporting the Thai army and air force have been trending on X and Facebook in Thailand.
