Cambodia Thailand border tensions rise amid closer | RSS.com
Tension along the Cambodia-Thailand border has intensified once again, and one Cambodian analyst believes the shift may be linked to Thailand’s increasingly close relationship with China.
Kang Rithkiry, a former lawyer at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, wrote on Facebook that recent border clashes suggest Thailand may feel it has Beijing’s political backing. He argued that if a new Cambodia-Thailand conflict were to break out, the scale and duration of any fighting would depend entirely on whether China or the United States intervenes.
He said Thailand does not have the capacity to launch a major offensive into Cambodian territory without Chinese weapons. At the same time, he said any sign that Thailand leans too heavily toward Beijing could open a wider path for Washington to supply arms to Cambodia.
According to Kang Rithkiry, global geopolitical competition has shifted sharply in 2025. Chinese and American arms interests are expanding across Southeast Asia, and Beijing could redirect weapons away from Cambodia and toward Thailand as the United States reopens the arms market to Phnom Penh.
He described the gunfire near Prey Chan village as both a test of Cambodia’s defensive readiness and a possible early sign of renewed border conflict between the two neighbours.
On November 13, Thai newspaper The Nation reported that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul accompanied King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida on a state visit to China from November 13 to 17. The visit comes shortly after the border incident and only two days after Anutin withdrew Thailand from a peace agreement with Cambodia.
Thai newspaper Khaosod reported on November 10 that Anutin announced the withdrawal just 14 days after Thailand agreed to the peace deal, which had listed United States President Donald Trump as a witness.
Analyst Chum Chheang said it remains uncertain whether the terms of the agreement could have been implemented at all, noting that obstacles were likely without China’s presence during the signing.
DAP News editor Soy Sopheap added on October 9 that, based on regional geopolitics, no Cambodia-Thailand border agreement has ever been reached without China’s involvement.
