Cambodia bans fuel imports from Thailand as border dispute flares
ANANTH BALIGA
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia on Monday began blocking all fuel and gas imports from neighboring Thailand, the latest salvo the countries have traded since a border dispute erupted four weeks ago.
The sparring began in late May when a Cambodian soldier was killed along a disputed section of the Cambodia-Thailand border, leading to volleys of trade, diplomatic and immigration sanctions. The dispute took a turn last week when former Prime Minister Hun Sen leaked a recording of a call he had with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose government began to teeter from the fallout.
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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. 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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.
