Emerald Triangle Dispute: Why Thailand & Cambodia Are Clashing Over Temple Sites?

Asianet News English

The long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has erupted into deadly violence, with both nations trading fire near one of Southeast Asia’s most sacred and historic temple complexes. Find out the roots of the conflict tied to colonial-era boundaries and centuries-old cultural heritage. See how ancient temples like Prasat Ta Muen Thom and Preah Vihear have become flashpoints for modern warfare.

Transcript

00:00Thailand and Cambodia are engaged in a new confrontation. Thailand's army said three

00:14civilians were wounded in a Cambodian rocket strike on 24th of July as the militaries of

00:19the two countries clashed again in an escalating row over a disputed border. Fresh fighting erupted

00:25on the morning of 22nd of July near two temples on the border between the Thai province of Surin

00:31and Cambodia's Uda Mianche. Defense Ministry spokeswoman Mali Suchyata said in a statement,

00:37the Thai military violated the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia by launching

00:42an armed assault on Cambodian forces stationed to defend the nation's sovereign territory.

00:48In response, the Cambodian armed forces exercised their legitimate right to self-defense

00:54in full accordance with international law to repel the Thai incursion and protect Cambodia's

01:00sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Thai army blamed Cambodian soldiers for firing first

01:06and later accused them of a targeted attack on civilians, saying two BM-21 rockets had hit a

01:14community in Surin's Kapchoing district, wounding three people. According to the Thai army, the clashes

01:20began around 7.35 am when a unit guarding Tamuin temple heard a Cambodian drone overhead. As per the

01:28army, later, six armed Cambodian soldiers, including one carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, approached a

01:35barbed-wired fence in front of the Thai post. Thai soldiers shouted to warn them, the army said,

01:40but around 8.20 am, Cambodian forces opened fire toward the eastern side of the temple,

01:46about 200 meters from the Thai base. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Poon Tam Vin Chachai said,

01:52the situation requires careful handling and we must act in accordance with international law.

01:57We will do our best to protect our sovereignty.

02:02Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh urged its nationals to leave Cambodia as soon as possible,

02:07unless they had urgent reasons to remain. The violence came hours after Thailand expelled the

02:13Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in protest after five members of a Thai military

02:19patrol were wounded by a landmine. Thailand's Prime Minister said that an investigation by the

02:24Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed border area,

02:31a claim denied by Phnom Penh. On 22 July, Cambodia announced it was downgrading Thais to the lowest level,

02:39pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

02:45Recent weeks have seen a series of tit-for-tat swipes by both sides, with Thailand restricting border

02:51crossings and Cambodia halting certain imports. My army said in a statement that one soldier lost his

02:57leg in the landmine blast and others suffered ear injuries and chest pain. Cambodia's Defence Minister

03:05earlier categorically rejected the unfounded accusations made by Thailand. The Ministry said

03:10that the border areas still contained many landmines left over from past wars which have not been fully

03:17cleared. The neighbours are locked in a bitter spat over an area known as the Emerald Triangle, with

03:24several poorly demarketed sections of their 817-kilometre-long border, most recently flaring up near the

03:31historic Thamon Tham Temple region, home to several ancient temples as well as along other contested

03:38areas. The squabble has dragged on for decades, flaring into bloody military clashes more than 15

03:44years ago and again in May 2025, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a firefight. The Cambodia-Thailand

03:52border dispute began due to colonial-era treaties, primarily created when Cambodia was under French colonial

03:59rule. France mapped the border for Cambodia and Thailand and the resulting maps placed culturally

04:05significant sites like the Pravia Temple on the Cambodian side. However, Thailand, that is the

04:11earlier Siamese representatives, never formally approved these maps nor strongly objected. After

04:17Cambodia became independent from France in 1953, the region near Pravia Temple saw recurring disputes. In 1954,

04:26Thai troops occupied the temple after the French withdrawal. Cambodia then brought the issue to

04:32the International Court of Justice in 1959, citing the 1907 French-drawn maps. In 1962, the ICJ ruled in

04:41Cambodia's favour, deciding that the temple was indeed situated in Cambodian territory. However,

04:48the court did not definitively settle the surrounding 4.6 square-kilometre area around the temple,

04:55which remains contested to this day. Both countries have fuelled border claims with strong

05:02nationalistic rhetoric. Domestic political circumstances, especially political turmoil in

05:07Thailand, have also reignited disputes at various points, such as when Cambodia sought UNESCO World Heritage

05:15status for Pravia Temple in 2008, provoking military clashes from 2008 to 2011. Recent years have also

05:25seen military confrontations, diplomacy and ongoing attempts at clarification, none of which have

05:31resolved core disagreements. The border row also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand,

05:37where Prime Minister Petong Tan Shinavatra has been suspended from office pending an ethics probe over Hakanda. A

05:44diplomatic call between Petong Tan and Hun Sen, that is Cambodia's former long-time

05:49ruler and father of Prime Minister Hon Manit was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial

05:56investigation. Last week, Hon Manit announced that Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year,

06:03after activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.

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