Cambodia says Thailand attacked World Heritage temple site
The Cambodian government said on Thursday that Thai forces struck the Preah Vihear Temple with shells and bombs. It condemned the attack, calling it a serious crime against a world heritage.
Armed clashes that erupted in the two countries' disputed border region on Thursday appeared to continue on Friday at several locations.
Thailand's military says 13 civilians and one soldier have died and more than 40 people have been wounded on the Thai side. More than 100,000 residents are said to have evacuated.
The Cambodian government has not disclosed any information on casualties.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote on social media that he called the leaders of both countries on Thursday and appealed for an immediate ceasefire.
Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Both Thailand and Cambodia are members of the regional group.
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The Diplomat
11 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Why Cambodia Is Losing the Information War With Thailand
The lack of an independent press has made it hard for the government to communicate its side of the story. In the latest conflict along the Cambodia-Thailand border, nationalism has once again spilled into cyberspace. In Cambodia, social media personalities have mobilized to challenge what they see as a global narrative tilted in Thailand's favor, arguing that international media portray Bangkok more sympathetically simply because it is more powerful, better connected, or more geopolitically popular. 'Just because Thailand is bigger and has more media coverage, Cambodia is a villain now?' asked beauty and lifestyle influencer SreyNea Nea. Pop singer and songwriter Sinora Roath echoed the sentiment in a viral video, in which she said, 'Thailand is invading Cambodia because they want more of our temples. Why are you so greedy, Thailand? Your country is bigger than us, you're way more populated, your food is all over the world, you are one of the most visited countries in Southeast Asia, and you still want more? From a country like us? Your media coverage is so big that when you told the world that we're the one invading, the world believed you.' Content creator Chris Dyna added, 'As a small country, it is very difficult for our voices to be heard. Many news outlets are only reporting from or within Thailand, with some news outlets reporting using Thai nationals, showing clear bias in their reports.' From memes to commentary, the dominant tone online is one of frustration with the focus of the international press. But the skew in global perception stems from a fact closer to home: namely, that Cambodia doesn't have a free press. Despite its history of frequent military coups, Thailand is still considered a 'flawed democracy' by the Economist Intelligence Unit and is rated 'partly free' by Freedom House. The country holds regular elections, supports an active civil society, and maintains a relatively diverse media environment, even though all of these operate under notable constraints. The press contends with self-censorship and strict legal limits, especially those imposed by the lese-majeste law, yet critical reporting persists, particularly in English-language and online outlets. For example, Bangkok, unlike Phnom Penh, hosts regional bureaus or correspondents for major international outlets like Reuters, the BBC, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, NBC, and others, many of which are associated with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) in central Bangkok. In Cambodia, by contrast, none of this is true. Despite still holding periodic elections, the country is now widely regarded as an authoritarian one-party state under the control of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Over the past decade, the government has systematically dismantled the independent media, culminating in the 2023 shutdown of Voice of Democracy (VOD), one of the last major newsrooms willing to challenge official narratives. Radio Free Asia (RFA) shuttered its Phnom Penh bureau back in 2017, citing 'unprecedented' levels of government intimidation. That same year, authorities closed more than two dozen local radio stations — many of which rebroadcast RFA programs –effectively silencing critical voices on the airwaves. The English-language Cambodia Daily, a longtime pillar of investigative reporting, was also forced to shut down after being hit with a sudden, crippling tax bill. The following year, the Phnom Penh Post was sold under pressure to government-friendly investors. By the time of the 2018 election, when the CPP won all 125 seats in the National Assembly, the country's independent press had been all but extinguished. Journalists who persist in exposing uncomfortable truths – especially around land seizures, corruption, or political abuses – often face surveillance, harassment, exile, or imprisonment. Take the case of Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, two former RFA reporters arrested and charged with providing information to a foreign state, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 15 years. Then there is the case of Mech Dara, a Cambodian investigative journalist known for uncovering online scams and government corruption. In September 2024, he was charged with incitement to commit a felony or cause social disorder over posts he made online. In January, Gerald Flynn, a British environmental reporter with Mongabay, learnt that he had been blacklisted and denied re-entry to Cambodia, apparently in retaliation for his reporting on environmental crimes tied to powerful elites. So if one wonders why there is so little reporting from inside Cambodia during this war with Thailand – why no major outlet seems to be covering our side of the story – this is why. As a Cambodian, I have watched my fellow countrymen grow used to the idea that speech is dangerous, and that certain things simply are not said in public. For years, no one I knew seemed particularly concerned about press freedom. But now, suddenly, there is a nationwide outrage over 'misinformation' and 'foreign media bias,' all because of a perception that the narrative is coming out of Bangkok instead of Phnom Penh. But Cambodia will not win the PR war in the information age by handing influencers identical scripts, without third-party verification or independent journalism. We cannot ask the world to hear us while our government silences every voice that dares to speak independently. As such, this war should be a wake-up call for Cambodian leaders, alerting them to the truth-telling functions of an independent press. By silencing these voices, the Cambodian government has forfeited the credibility needed for others to believe its version of events.
The Diplomat
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- The Diplomat
Malaysia Agreed to $150B in Purchases as Part of US Tariff Deal: Minister
Despite the White House's release of updated tariff figures last week, there is much still to be negotiated between Washington and its trade partners. Late last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced updated tariff rates for 67 nations, including nine from Southeast Asia, which are set to come into effect on August 7. However, given the unpredictability of the Trump administration and the speed of the negotiations that preceded last week's announcement, there is a lot that we don't know about these figures, and how they will affect each nation's trade with the U.S. For instance, while most Southeast Asian nations succeeded in negotiating a reduction in the tariff rate to around 19-20 percent, it still remains unclear specifically what each agreed to. It is also unclear what exemptions might apply to their major exports to the U.S. and whether other geopolitical conditions may have been slipped into the trade discussions. As James Guild wrote recently for The Diplomat regarding the deals with Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which were announced prior to last week's announcement, 'many important details are missing. In fact, many of the countries on the other side of these deals quickly made it known they viewed things a bit differently than President Trump.' Yet, as the days go by, further details are emerging about what each nation put on the table during the rapid trade negotiations with the Trump team. Speaking to parliament yesterday, Malaysia's trade minister offered some details about how his nation managed to secure a reduction in its tariff, from 25 percent to 19 percent. In comments to parliament, Reuters reported that Tengku Zafrul Aziz said that Malaysian negotiators have agreed to spend up to $150 billion over the next five years to buy equipment from U.S. multinationals, in order to address the trade imbalance between the two countries. This includes agreements for state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad to buy liquefied natural gas worth $3.4 billion a year. As Reuters reported, Malaysia 'will also commit to $70 billion in cross-border investments in the United States over the next five years.' He confirmed that Malaysia had also agreed to remove its tariffs on more than 98 percent of U.S. goods. Last year, Malaysia had a trade surplus of around $24.9 billion with the U.S., according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Tengku Zafrul said that the two countries were finalizing a joint statement covering the commitments that had been made, which also included tariff exemptions that Malaysia managed to secure on its pharmaceutical products and semiconductor exports to the U.S. In his address to parliament, the minister warned that semiconductor chips may still be subject to additional tariffs under U.S. tariffs on the grounds of national security. 'Therefore, we need to continue to be prepared for any possible additional tariffs imposed on the semiconductor industry,' he said. He added that the country was seeking similar exemptions for important raw materials, including cocoa, rubber, and palm oil, but that these had not yet been finalized. While Tengku Zafrul's comments bring some clarity to Malaysia's situation, it also highlights the challenge of negotiating trade agreements, which often take years of negotiations, on such a short time scale. Another area of considerable uncertainty that has been kicked down the road involves transshipped goods. Trump's tariff announcement included a blanket 40 percent tariff on any goods deemed to have originated in China. Like much else, it is still unclear how (and by whom) the provenance of goods will be established and verified. Lurking behind the uncertainty about the specifics of the deal, there is the larger uncertainty about whether the tariffs will even be in place in a month, a year, or a decade's time. One writer in Free Malaysia Today argued today that Malaysian policymakers should not panic, assuming that the tariffs are 'an assertive, yet unstable, use of executive power' that might not last. 'The current tariff wave is not a permanent reordering of trade architecture,' the op-ed argued, 'it is a phase of legal and political experimentation.' As such, the article argued that Malaysia should avoid making knee-jerk concessions to Trump. However long the tariffs are in effect, the short-term 'wins' that Trump has secured through the brute leveraging of U.S. economic power will likely be outweighed by the long-term drain of U.S. influence, as Southeast Asian governments seek out more predictable and 'like-minded' trade partners.
Nikkei Asia
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The new brand of coercive diplomacy born in Kuala Lumpur
Monks pray for soldiers at a donation ceremony in Oddar Meanchey province. Cambodia, on July 29, the day negotiations to end fighting between Thailand and Cambodia were set. © Reuters Suthichai Yoon is founder of Thai digital outlet Kafedam Media Group and was a co-founder of media company Nation Group.
