Latest news with #TerritorialDispute
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russia's Medvedev Says ‘Coalition of the Willing' Failed to Outplay Trump
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that European leaders had failed to outplay Donald Trump, but that it was unclear how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would present the issues of territory and a security guarantee. "The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS on his turf," Medvedev said in English on X. "Europe thanked & sucked up to him." Medvedev said the question was "what tune" Zelenskiy would play "about guarantees & territories back home, once he's put on his green military uniform again." Trump told Zelenskiy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end the war in Ukraine, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.
CNA
24-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
CNA Explains: Why Thailand and Cambodia are clashing
BANGKOK: Military forces of Thailand and Cambodia faced off along the neighbours' shared border on Thursday (Jul 24), in a dramatic escalation of long-running territorial disputes steeped in history and intertwined with contemporary political family dynasties. Both sides accused each other of sparking the latest round of cross-border offensives, which has led to civilian casualties in Thailand and the mass evacuation of tens of thousands of citizens. Cambodia has labelled Thailand's actions as 'brutal, barbaric, and violent', with Prime Minister Hun Manet calling for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to 'stop Thailand's aggression'. Thailand meanwhile has closed all border crossings between the two nations, with a defence spokesperson saying its soldiers had been forced to return fire after coming under attack from Cambodian troops near Surin province. What happened? The latest spate of violence has been months in the making, with political and military brinkmanship intensifying before erupting in several hotspots along the demarcated divide. Clashes erupted early Thursday near the disputed Ta Muen Thom temple, located along the eastern Cambodia-Thailand border, approximately 360km from Bangkok. Here, in February, a group of Cambodian soldiers and civilians sang the Cambodian national anthem at the temple, an act designed to show sovereignty over the ancient complex. It resulted in a verbal dispute between the two sides and a formal complaint by the Thai government, which viewed the act as provocative. On both sides of the border, the nations' respective militaries have built up their capabilities in the months since. On May 28, a deadly firefight between troops, some 300km east around an area known as the Emerald Triangle - or Mom Bei in Cambodia - escalated the situation even further. A Cambodian soldier was killed in that skirmish. And following the incident, Cambodia said it would take a dispute over four areas to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Since then, both governments have issued volleys of accusatory statements. The Cambodian government condemned the incident as an 'unprovoked act of aggression' and a breach of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a statement, the Thai government said its troops had been forced to defend themselves while carrying out routine patrols. Despite the ramped up political rhetoric, the situation along the 817km border remained relatively calm – until this week. Five Thai soldiers were injured on Wednesday, including one having his leg amputated, after stepping on landmines near the Chong An Ma border crossing in Ubon Ratchathani province. The Thai army said the explosives had been newly planted, and not by them. In response, the Thai government expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy from Phnom Penh. Cambodia denied it was responsible, and countered that the Thai soldiers had entered its territory, where mines from old conflicts remained. 'It is deeply regrettable that the Thai side not only refuses to acknowledge its own acts of incursion, but instead accuses Cambodia of violating international law — when in fact, Cambodia is the aggrieved party suffering injustice from Thai violations,' said a spokesperson for Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence. A firefight across the temple area on Thursday then erupted into broader clashes, with at least 11 Thai civilians reportedly killed from Cambodian shelling, schools closed and Thai fighter jets deployed to hit infantry targets inside Cambodia. What's the bigger picture? For over a century, Thailand and Cambodia have been at odds over sections of their shared border - an area that has never been fully demarcated. The boundary was originally mapped in 1907 by the French during their colonial rule over Cambodia, based on an agreement to follow the region's natural watershed line. Tensions have flared intermittently over the years, with the most intense erupting in 2008. That episode stemmed from Cambodia's move to designate the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site, sparking deadly exchanges between the two militaries. The violence then peaked in 2011 with a sustained week-long artillery battle. At that time, Cambodia turned to the ICJ, asking it to clarify a 1962 ruling that had granted the temple to Cambodia and to issue measures to prevent further military confrontations. In 2013, the ICJ reaffirmed that the entire temple promontory lay within Cambodian territory. Today, Phnom Penh is again turning to the ICJ to settle 'unresolved and sensitive issues'. Recent filings to the court cover the Ta Muen Thom temple, two other temple sites Ta Muen Tauch and Ta Krabei, as well as Mom Bei. The disputed Emerald Triangle zone covers just 12 sq km and sits at the crossroads of three countries: Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province, Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, and Laos' Champasak province. During the 1970s and 80s, this area was notorious for insurgencies and drug-linked violence, gaining a reputation as a hotspot for cannabis cultivation. Over the decades, it has served as a volatile battleground - witnessing clashes between Thai troops, the Khmer Rouge, Lao resistance fighters and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian forces alike. The landscape remains scarred, with land mines still embedded in the terrain. Many locals in the area still depend heavily on the land for their livelihoods. Despite years of proposed development plans and trilateral agreements, the region has seen minimal economic progress on the ground. Who are the key figures involved? Central to the ongoing saga has been an unceremonial and public fallout between the ruling Hun and Shinawatra families. Hun Manet is the son of the long-time Cambodian patriarch Hun Sen, who remains in a position of power as the country's premier after more than three decades of cumulative rule. In Thailand, Paentongtarn Shinawatra became prime minister in August last year. She is the daughter of former leader-turned-exile Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to the country in 2023. While he holds no official political title, he is believed to remain highly influential over national affairs. The two families once had very close ties, shaped by shared political interests, business connections and personal relationships. But a leaked phone call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen in June, discussing the border situation, revealed the extent to which those ties had been apparently fractured. During the call, she referred to Hun Sen as 'uncle' and assured him she would 'handle anything he needed'. She also criticised a high-ranking Thai military commander. Hun Sen then released a recording of the call, which ended up on social media. The Thai Foreign Ministry condemned the leak as an act of betrayal. The call also had major domestic political implications for the Shinawatras. By the start of July, Paetongtarn was suspended by the Constitutional Court pending an ethics probe into allegations that she showed excessive deference to Hun Sen. Later that month, Hun Sen gave a public speech warning against 'neighbourly betrayal disguised as friendship', and made sharp comments about the Shinawatras' "disrespect' of the Thai military and monarchy. It signalled a complete disintegration of interfamilial relations, which now hang like a shadow over the ongoing bilateral stoush. What happens next? The situation remains delicate and uncertain. Analysts in Thailand have warned that continued militarisation and nationalism on both sides increase the risk of a wider, sustained conflict. Macro-level impacts across both economies could also be felt beyond the border areas, where regular trade has already been majorly disrupted. According to the Thailand's Department of Foreign Trade, Thai-Cambodian border trade in 2024 was valued at about US$5.44 billion. Key Thai exports included beverages, auto and motorcycle parts, engines, and agricultural machinery. Cambodia's main exports to Thailand consisted of cassava, scrap metals such as aluminium and copper as well as electrical wires - all vital to Thai downstream industries like animal feed, recycling and electronics. There are other underlying and unresolved issues that could interplay with the border situation. Analysts have queried whether the ruling Pheu Thai party's push to legalise casinos in Thailand could have contributed to strained ties between the two neighbours. Border casinos in Cambodia are an important source of revenue for the government, and several have been forced to close during this period. The Thai legislation has been paused for now but could remain a thorn if the policy remains in the government's sights down the line. At present, the government in Bangkok is being led by caretaker Phumtham Wechayachai and holds a razor-thin majority in parliament that could be further imperilled by the latest crisis. The Cambodian government has said it will continue with ICJ proceedings over the disputed areas, regardless of Thailand's cooperation in the process, which could take several years. For its part, the Thai government said last month it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction and urged the dispute to be resolved through bilateral means. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN chairman this year, has called for calm. 'The least we can expect is for them to stand down and hopefully try to enter into negotiation,' he said. 'Peace is the only option available.'
