Shots fired, landmine explosions in border between Thailand & Cambodia

The latest incidents have inflamed tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, with a long-running border dispute now threatening to escalate into a broader conflict, and relations collapsing to their lowest level in years.

On Thursday, Thailand’s military accused Cambodian troops of firing at a Thai army base in an area near the ancient Ta Muen Thom Temple – which lies in disputed territory in the south of Thailand’s Surin province and in Cambodia’s northwest. It said Cambodia had deployed an unmanned drone in front of the temple before sending troops in with weapons.

“Six armed Cambodian soldiers, including those carrying RPGs, were seen approaching the barbed wire area in front of the Thai operational base,” the military said in the statement.

A Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson said their troops had acted in self-defense after an unprovoked incursion from Thai soldiers.

“Cambodian forces acted strictly within the bounds of self-defence, responding to an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops that violated our territorial integrity,” Lieutenant General Maly Socheata said.

Thailand’s Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Narkphanit told reporters Thursday that operations were “currently ongoing,” citing preliminary reports from the border.