Thailand And Cambodia’s Bizarre Border Conflict – OpEd
Over the last month Thai and Cambodian military forces have been stepping up their positions along the 803 km (499 miles) mutual land border. This all begin back on May 28 when a border clash occurred after Cambodian nationalist visited the Prasad Ta Moan temple on land not fully demarcated between the two countries. This escalated when Thai authorities began closing the land borders on June 7 and ordered a full alert of troops along the border. Cambodia reciprocated.
This is all going on while the Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is hanging on for her political life, after the withdraw of the Bhumjaithai Party from the coalition. Paetongtarn has a majority of two seats in a 500 seat parliament. Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is under threat of returning to prison after allegations of faking his medical ailments while in prison in 2023/24, In addition, Thaksin is in an all-out feud with his friend for 30 years, former Cambodian prime minister and now president of the Senate Hun Sen. Hun Sen disclosed that Thaksin had faked his sickness, only putting on a neck brace for the photo they took together.
There have been mass demonstrations over the last couple of days demanding the resignation of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister. On June 15, Hun Sen released a recording of a telephone conversation between Paetongtarn and himself, where Paetongtarn, where she was heard to criticise the leader of the 2nd Army Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister and defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai guarantees that a coup is not being contemplated by the military leadership.
A source with an intricate understanding of the casinos, scam and money laundering operations in towns such as Poi Pet bordering Sa Kaeo in Thailand, advised the border closing and cutting of electricity and telecommunications cables laid underground into Sa Kaeo has drastically affected operations. Trade across the Thai Cambodian border has been significantly reduced, now beginning to starve border towns of their economic livelihoods.
There were mentions by the military that its objective along the border was to quell call centre scam operations, which the source says are actually primarily owned by Thai politicians.
It’s apparent the control over Thai border crossings is in the hands of the military rather than the government. The Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet on Facebook has asked the Thais to normalise border movements with Thailand. Hun Manet specifically mentioned the “inconsistencies between policy guidelines issued by Thai political leadership and actual implementations on the ground by the Thai military”. Hun Manet said this is creating obstacles in obtaining any long-lasting solution to the border issues.
However, Hun Seng has taken over control of the Cambodian military and said that the issue is not a problem between Cambodia and Thailand, but the Shinawatra’s who owe a debt to Cambodia. While the Thai military appears to be stopping call centre operations, Hun Sen said that Cambodia is merely a victim of these scam centres and emphasised Thailand’s role as a hub exploited by cybercriminals and black market operators. Thai deputy foreign minister Russ Jalichandra said after Hun Sen’s statements on live broadcast that he is interfering with the internal politics of Thailand and causing instability.
Of immediate concern are the escalating protests around the Victory Monument in Bangkok, which resemble the same way that former prime ministers have faced before their demise. Opposition parties and even those from within Paetongtarn’s own Pheu Thai Party are gearing up for long term protests. Some activists are openly calling for a military coup.
Paetongtarn’s position as prime minister will either end up with her resigning or being brought down through a vote of no confidence in the parliament. Paetongtarn’s days are limited, as are her father Thaksin, who could face another stint in jail again.
After that, the Thai Cambodian border tensions will just disappear very quickly.
