Explained: The border dispute, and the Hindu temples at the heart of deadly Cambodia-Thailand clashes

Indian Express

24-07-2025

Thailand's army launched strikes on Cambodian military sites along their disputed border on Thursday (July 24), amidst recent deadly clashes which killed at least 11 Thai civilians.
In a social media post, Thailand's 2nd regional military command said that it had deployed F-16 fighter jets and claimed to have 'destroyed' two Cambodian regional military support units. With ongoing fighting between the two forces at six locations along the border, Thai residents in the area were evacuated.
The two nations had downgraded their diplomatic relations a day earlier, after accusing each other of inciting violence. The exchange of fire has roots not only in their colonial history, including disputes over Hindu temples, but also in recent events. Here is what to know.
What is happening at the Thailand-Cambodia border?
Earlier on Thursday, Thailand's foreign affairs ministry accused its southern neighbour of escalating the long-standing border conflict, and promised to 'intensify our self-defense measures'.
'The Royal Thai Government condemns in the strongest terms the violations of Thailand's sovereignty and international law, following the laying of anti-personnel landmines within Thai territory that caused injuries to Thai military personnel while Thai soldiers were patrolling on 16 and 23 July 2025,' it said in a statement.
Thailand has claimed that Cambodia had recently laid land mines along paths that were supposed to remain safe under a common agreement. Five of its soldiers were reportedly injured on Wednesday. Cambodia has dismissed these 'baseless accusations,' and said that many unexploded mines and other ordnance remain in the area as a legacy of 20th-century wars and unrest.
The Thai ministry claimed that Cambodia had resorted to heavy artillery shelling on Thursday morning into a Thai military base, as well as a hospital. Thailand has since closed its border to Cambodia, while Cambodia has accused Bangkok of using 'excessive force.'
The Thai government has further claimed that Cambodia deployed drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops at a military base near the Khmer Hindu temple, Prasat Ta Muen Thom. It has also alleged that Thursday's first clashes happened close to this region. The temple is located 400 km northeast of Bangkok, along the border of Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province.
However, the Cambodian side has disputed this narrative, with its Defence Ministry saying, 'Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity.'
The ministry also claimed that the Thai side had deployed drones first and initiated an armed attack on the Cambodian troops at the temple. Both countries have long staked claims on the temple's ownership.
Relations have been fraught since May, when a soldier was killed in a skirmish at the border between Cambodian and Thai troops. The incident spurred tit-for-tat actions, amid rising nationalist rhetoric on both sides.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from her post earlier this month after her phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was leaked. On the call, she had allegedly spoken disparagingly of her own military's actions in the dispute. The leaked phone call had spurred widespread protests and saw the ruling coalition lose support from a major ally.
In recent weeks, border crossings were stopped for all visitors except students and medical patients. Cambodia, in turn, has banned Thai films, cut Thai internet links, and suspended imports of fruits and vegetables, as well as fuel and gas from Thailand.
The two nations share over 800 kilometres of border, and have longstanding border disputes based on a 1907 map drawn during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The country has long held the map as a reference to claim territory, while Thailand disagrees, claiming it is vague.
One such dispute centres around the mountainous area surrounding the 11th-century Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, located between Cambodia's Preah Vihear province and Thailand's Sisaket province. Both countries have claimed the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva as their own. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008, much to Thailand's consternation.
Legal arbitration to resolve this territory claim resulted in an International Court of Justice ruling awarding sovereignty of the region to Cambodia in 1962, spurring further diplomatic tensions.
This decision was upheld by the court in 2013, following two years of deadly clashes. The court then created a demilitarised zone around the temple following deadly clashes that left 20 dead and displaced thousands of people, but this was not implemented, the Associated Press reported. Thailand has since rejected the court's jurisdiction.