The border tension between Thailand and Cambodia rose to extreme levels on Thursday after an airstrike by Thai F-16 warplanes killed several civilians and destroyed infrastructure. The assault is one of the worst military conflicts between the two neighbours in Southeast Asia in more than ten years which forces the bilateral relations into a deeper crisis.
The Thai military acknowledged that one of its F-16 fighter planes intercepted and destroyed what it termed to be a Cambodian military base on Cambodian soil. The deputy spokesman of the army said that the strike came as retaliation to the rising border aggression like the shelling of the frontier by artillery reportedly used by Cambodian troops earlier that morning.
Nonetheless, Cambodia highly opposed the legality of the airstrike because they claimed the Thais bombed a civilian road on purpose. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Defence the action was a reckless intrusion into national sovereignty and urged Thailand to halt all military activity alongside the border.
According to a Thai military statement, at least nine Thai civilians have died including an eight-year-old child due to the skirmish. The blasting and shells resulted in thousands of villagers in the border provinces- Surin, Sisaket, Ubon Ratchathani leaving their houses. Emergence shelter facilities are established in schools and temples in these provinces.
Local officials in Surin reported widespread panic and damage. Artillery shells fell hitting two villagers who died in their own homes. District chief Sutthirot Charoenthanasak said they have already evacuated 40000 people in 86 villages.
The Thai broadcast media was able to capture video evidence which revealed heavy smoke coming out of a decimated petrol station in Sisaket province where two people had been reported to have been killed and 10 others injured. The Thai military reported another death in Ubon Ratchathani.
The recent riot was triggered over the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple which both countries had been embroiled to over a long span of time. Both sides of the military officials accuse the others of the initial provocation. Thailand has accused Cambodian soldiers of launching rockets and a drone attack against Thai installations, whereas Cambodia claims that it simply responded to an unprovoked cross-border excursion of Thai forces.
Matters were already tense between the two states earlier in the week, when Thailand had said Cambodia had set off fresh landmines in the troubled border area, something that Phnom Penh refutes. Cambodia observes that all the mines there would have been leftover insurgencies and Thai troops followed the wrong patrol routes.
To react on the landmine case, which hurt a few Thai soldiers, Bangkok pulled its envoy off Phnom Penh and ordered the recalling of the Cambodian envoy in Thailand. The diplomatic tit-for-tat has further complicated efforts at de-escalation.
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a stern declaration cautioning that it would step up defensive actions in case Cambodia proceeded with its military activity. According to the government, it was not only the army posts of Cambodia which were targeted but the civilian infrastructure also, such as a hospital.
Cambodia, meanwhile, is urging the international community to intervene. Its foreign ministry termed the Thailand airstrike as uncautious and hostile and requested Thai authorities to withdraw their troops in the conflicting territory and discuss rather than mix it up with the military forces.
The territorial disputes that have existed between the countries over a century have triggered occasional violence in the past because of long-standing border issues. The biggest clash occurred in 2011, when artillery exchanges between the two states left no fewer than 12 people dead and about 2,000 displaced. Thursday’s events mark the most severe escalation since then.
The Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, Phumtham Wechayachai spoke to the press, urging restraint. “We are dealing with a fragile situation. We have to act according to international law, he said.A bid to defuse the situation earlier this week was thwarted when a telephone conversation between Thailand suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and renowned ex-Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen brought a political controversy. According to Thai opposition parties, the call lacked permission, which resulted in legal action, and Shinawatra was suspended.
