What's really at stake between Thailand and Cambodia
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The recent escalation at the
Thai-Cambodian border , marked by deadly clashes, air strikes and the evacuation of over 130,000 civilians, is a grave reminder that Southeast Asia's unresolved tensions are never just over lines on a map.
This crisis began with a leaked phone call between Thailand's
now-suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen. But what may have started as a breach of diplomatic etiquette has become a calculated crisis, weaponised by elites for strategic ends.
Hun Sen, still a dominant political actor despite stepping down, chose to release the call at a moment of growing scrutiny over Cambodia's complicity in
transnational criminal networks , notably cyber scams and human trafficking.
On the Thai side, political instability has deepened. Paetongtarn's suspension and the threat to her coalition created a power vacuum ripe for external provocation and sidelined a reformist agenda, including the
controversial casino bill that could threaten powerful business interests on both sides of the border.
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