Cambodia ex-leader Hun Sen, Thai PM make separate visits to tense border areas

Cambodia's powerful former leader Hun Sen and Thailand's prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, on Thursday made separate visits to border areas as the two countries remain locked in an ongoing dispute that has resulted in strict land crossing restrictions and several economic boycotts.

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Hun Sun and Paetongtarn didn't meet. Relations between the neighboring nations have deteriorated following an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed in contested territory along their border.

While the two sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute, they have continued to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions high.

Hun Sen posted on his social media after the visit that more troops and weapons have been mobilized to several border areas between Cambodia and Thailand after the clash. He said that soldiers "are constantly prepared to defend the territory in case of any invasion by the Thai army."

He did not elaborate on when exactly the reinforcement happened, or how many soldiers and what kinds of weapons were deployed. But days after the dispute erupted, several videos of tanks and armed forces were filmed and posted on social media as they moved past Phnom Penh.