Peace in Peril

The latest border flare-up between Cambodia and Thailand has grown well beyond a routine diplomatic spat.

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What began with a short but lethal exchange of fire on May 28 in a sliver of disputed "no-man's land" has snowballed into full-blown national mobilization: tens of thousands marched through Phnom Penh on Wednesday chanting patriotic songs and pledging fealty to the army, while Bangkok has tightened crossing hours, barred Thai casino workers from entering Cambodia and warned its nationals to stay away.

Phnom Penh has replied with a sweeping embargo on Thai movies, television serials, fresh produce and even international internet links routed through Thailand. One Cambodian soldier is already dead; neither side contests that fact, only who shot first. The spat is inflamed by an 800-kilometer frontier never properly demarcated since the French drew their 1907 colonial map. When Cambodian troops sang their national anthem at an ancient border shrine in February it took only minutes for Thai soldiers to arrive and trade insults. History sits heavily here. Memories of the 2011 firefights around the Preah Vihear temple still shape public opinion, and every new skirmish is instantly cast as proof of perfidy by the other side.