A Timeline of the Latest Conflict Between Cambodia and Thailand
The two neighbors in Southeast Asia have had occasional military clashes and nationalist rivalries for hundreds of years.
The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The map was the basis of Cambodia's claims to certain parts of the border, but its vagueness led to conflicting interpretations, and Thailand contested it.
The countries tried to resolve the dispute diplomatically, but the issue was never settled completely, even after transnational bodies like the International Court of Justice intervened in 1962. At stake were areas like centuries-old historical temples.
Military fighting has broken out intermittently since 2008. The last time tensions turned deadly was in 2011, when the fighting focused on a jungle border area including ancient temples to which both sides had laid claim. Each side blamed the other for starting and prolonging the fighting.
The two nations declared a cease-fire after seven days of fighting killed at least 15 people and displaced tens of thousands of civilians. That same year, a United Nations court ordered the two nations to withdraw troops and establish a demilitarized zone, but the court left unresolved who would control a larger disputed territory, where troops kept clashing.
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