Thai air strikes on Cambodia leave peace accord near collapse

Both sides accuse the other of being responsible for renewing skirmishes

- Philip Wen

Residents evacuating to safer areas following clashes along the border with Thailand in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province on Dec 8. The Thai military said it scrambled F-16 fighter jets after Cambodian forces opened fire at some border locations, killing at least one Thai soldier and wounding eight others. PHOTO: AFP

(PHOTO: AFP)

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dismissed the possibility of immediate negotiations after Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodia on Dec 8, as a sharp escalation of border tensions between the two neighbours left a peace accord brokered by US President Donald Trump on the brink of collapse.

Both countries accused the other of provocation and for being responsible for renewing deadly border skirmishes in the early hours of Dec 8. The Thai military said it scrambled F-16 fighter jets after Cambodian forces opened fire at some border locations, killing at least one Thai soldier and wounding eight others.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Thailand's military attacks killed at least four Cambodian civilians and injured nine others. He accused Bangkok of "widespread dissemination of false and fabricated information". Cambodia's Defence Ministry said the Thai military had launched dawn attacks on its forces at two locations, following days of "provocative actions", and that Cambodian troops had not retaliated.

The warring rhetoric, now matched by a ratcheting up of hostilities on the ground, underlines the deep-seated division and distrust between the two Southeast Asian neighbours, threatening a return of instability in the region on the eve of the official opening of the SEA Games in Bangkok on Dec 9.