Cambodia, Thailand wage tit-for-tat as border rift widens

[ad_1] Up to date June 17, 2025, 5:25 p.m. ET

Cambodia on Tuesday blocked imports of Thai greens and fruit, and Thailand banned its nationals from working at some casinos inside Cambodia in recent fallout from a border dispute sparked by a 10-minute firefight final month.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Info mentioned that beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, authorities alongside the border with Thailand closed gates to dam the import of Thai agricultural merchandise.

Prime Minister Hun Manet declared Tuesday that Cambodia will solely enable the Thai imports if the Thai army reopens all border checkpoints and resumes regular operations. He additionally set that as a situation for discussing reductions in troops numbers on the border.

Tensions and army deployments have spiked since Thai forces shot lifeless a Cambodian soldier on Might 28. Thailand says Cambodian forces dug a trench on the Thai aspect of the border.

“Thailand should first present real goodwill and adjust to our primary situation, which is to reopen the border crossings on either side to the best way they have been. Solely then will we discuss troop issues,” Hun Manet mentioned Tuesday.

Since June 7, Thailand has restricted border openings to 8am to 4pm. Often they're open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thailand’s army was planning to suggest a discount in troop deployments alongside the border throughout a Thailand-Cambodia Regional Border Committee assembly scheduled for June 27-28. However Deputy Protection Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit mentioned Cambodia, which was as a result of host the assembly, has indefinitely postponed it, The Nation reported.

On Tuesday, the Thai army banned Thais from crossing the border to work at casinos and leisure venues in Poipet, which lies on the Cambodian aspect of the primary land border crossing level between the 2 nations, reverse the japanese Thai city of Aranyaprathet.

Casinos will not be authorized in Thailand, so playing institutions proliferate close to at key border crossings in neighboring nations like Cambodia.

The Bangkok Submit newspaper reported that the order took impact on Tuesday at 8 a.m. and is in place till additional discover. It's aimed toward guaranteeing the security of Thai individuals, the report mentioned.

Police Col. Napatrapong Supaporn, immigration police chief in Sa Kaeo province, was quoted as saying that Thais who're nonetheless in Poipet ought to return dwelling for their very own security.

In the meantime, authorities within the Cambodian border provinces together with Pursat and Preah Vihear introduced on Fb that a whole lot of households had been evacuated from frontline areas to safer areas.

<img data-chromatic="ignore" alt="An undated photo of the border crossing to Thailand in Poipet, Cambodia." class="c-image" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=800&height=600" srcset="https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=274&height=205 274w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=400&height=300 400w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=768&height=576 768w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=1024&height=768 1024w, https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/IQ3I5FXKDVC7DCTM2XUDSKAORM.jpg?auth=d2140d48d33eebdaa8a5439183db1f79c1ab20e8c3438c801816df353c3a7afb&width=1440&height=1080 1440w" width="800" height="600"/> cambodia-thailand-border An undated photograph of the border crossing to Thailand in Poipet, Cambodia. (msnina through Flickr) This week, Cambodia submitted a request for the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice in The Hague to rule on the demarcation of 4 areas on the border, together with close to the scene of final month’s conflict.

The border dispute has historic roots and the 2 sides differ over which maps to make use of in demarcating territory. The final time there was a severe and bloody flare-up in tensions was between 2008 and 2011, over a disputed eleventh century temple at Preah Vihear. The Worldwide Felony Courtroom has granted sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia.