Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Monday to a ceasefire aimed at halting four days of intense fighting. But the cross-border strife has reopened an old territorial dispute between them, setting off a political crisis in Thailand and leaving open questions about whether the announcement of a pause in the battle is enough to save a war-scarred world from a fresh conflict. Tensions simmering in recent weeks erupted after a landmine explosion along the contentious Thai-Cambodian border injured five Thai soldiers. Since then, both sides engaged in cross-border firing and bombing, killing more than 30 people and injuring dozens. The fighting also displaced tens of thousands of people. Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, spoke to leaders of both countries in his latest bid to play the role of a peacemaker and threatened them with economic penalties. On Monday, leaders from both nations met in Malaysia, joined by US and Chinese officials, before announcing a ceasefire. Yet, the historical border dispute is not going anywhere and the latest round of fighting underscores just how easy it is for military conflict to break out at a time when global powers are preoccupied with other wars, the United Nations is toothless, and international law is violated as much as it is upheld.
At the heart of Thailand-Cambodia tensions lie differing perceptions of a colonial-era border drawn by the French in a region where old temples are sacred to communities on both sides. Those differences have been managed in recent decades because of strong relations between Hun Sen — Cambodia’s former leader who is still a dominant personality in the country — and Thailand’s Shinawatra family, which has ruled the country for long stretches of the past quarter of a century. But after a phone conversation between Mr Hun and Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra — in it she comes across as deferential to Mr Hun — became public, a Thai court suspended Ms Shinawatra. An emboldened Thai military, which has ruled the country in several stints over the recent decades and has not always seen eye to eye with the Shinawatra family, has asserted itself more forcefully in the conflict. Ultimately, a prolonged conflict is in no one’s interest. While Mr Trump’s disregard for the UN and international law has only made the world a more volatile place, if the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia holds, it would be welcome.
