ហេតុអ្វីបានជាថៃ និងកម្ពុជាឈ្លោះគ្នា? នេះជាការណែនាំរហ័ស

 The countries continued to trade fire on Friday, and at least 16 people are reported to have been killed.

Cambodia and Thailand exchanged fire for a second day on Friday after months of rising tension over the shared border between the two Southeast Asian countries. At least 15 people have been killed on the Thai side since the fighting started, and in Cambodia, at least one death has been reported. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the disputed area.  

The border tensions have already contributed to a political crisis in Thailand: On July 1 a Thai court suspended the prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, because of comments she made about the dispute, which goes back decades.

This conflict may prove to be a diplomatic opportunity for China. It is the largest trading partner for both Thailand and Cambodia, and has increased its influence in the region at a time when governments in Southeast Asia are becoming wary of the United States.

What happened at the border?

Each nation accused the other of firing first on Thursday.

The Thai Army said that Cambodia had fired rockets into civilian areas in four Thai provinces, prompting Thailand to send F-16 fighter jets to strike targets in Cambodia.

Cambodian officials said that Thai soldiers had opened fire on Cambodian troops first, at Prasat Ta Muen Thom, a temple claimed by both nations. They said Cambodian forces returned fire some 15 minutes later.

On Friday, gunshots and artillery fire rang out throughout the day and civilians on both sides of the border ran for shelter.

More than 131,000 people in Thailand have evacuated, according to Thailand’s Health Ministry. In Cambodia, at least one death has been reported, and hundreds of people fled their homes in wagons pulled by tractors.

Why was Thailand’s prime minister suspended?

In June, Ms. Paetongtarn spoke by phone to Hun Sen, Cambodia’s de facto leader, to discuss the escalating border tensions. Mr. Hun Sen has close ties to her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister of Thailand and the leader of a powerful political dynasty, as well as one of the country’s richest men.

Mr. Hun Sen posted a recording of their call, in which Ms. Paetongtarn seemed to disparage Thailand’s powerful military and take a deferential tone. She called Mr. Hun Sen “uncle” and told him that she would “arrange” anything he wanted.

In response, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bangkok to express their outrage. Although Ms. Paetongtarn apologized, she has faced pressure to resign.

In early July, a Thai court suspended her.

Why is Prasat Ta Muen Thom important?

The ownership of Prasat Ta Muen Thom, an ancient temple on the Thai side of the border, is disputed by the two countries. Mr. Hun Sen claimed in a social media post that a Thai military commander had “started this war” by ordering the closure of the temple on Wednesday, and opening fire on Cambodian troops the next day.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of starting the conflict.

Military clash on the Cambodia-Thailand border

The temple is in the Surin region of Thailand, and people there speak Khmer as well as Thai — highlighting the cultural overlap with Cambodia, where Khmer is the official language. The province is known for ruins from the Khmer Empire, which lasted from the ninth to the 15th century. One such ruin is Prasat Ta Muen Thom.

Arguments about where the border should be, and who owns the temples in the region, have led to decades of disputes.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Cambodia sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple, another temple about 95 miles away.

In 2013, the court, the top judicial body of the United Nations, tried to clarify the 1962 decision. It said that Cambodia had sovereignty over the immediate area around the temple, but it left unresolved who controlled a larger disputed area.

What is China’s role?

China is both countries’ largest trading partner and has invested heavily in infrastructure in each.

At the same time, American influence in the region has been questioned, as the United States has threatened to impose steep tariffs on imports from both Thailand and Cambodia.

This month, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, met with Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and criticized the U.S. tariffs as “an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate rights to development,” according to a Chinese government readout.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said at a news briefing on Thursday that China was “deeply concerned” about the conflict and had been working to promote peace and facilitate peace talks.

The United States, which has a security treaty with Thailand, called for “the immediate cessation of attacks, protection of civilians, and peaceful settlement of disputes,” in a statement Thursday from the State Department.

How old is the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia?

The two countries have had occasional military clashes and nationalist rivalries for hundreds of years. The border disputes can be traced back to a 1907 map created during French colonial rule in Cambodia. The two countries interpret the map differently.

Military fighting has broken out intermittently since 2008, but the last time that a major clash turned deadly was in 2011.

Here is a timeline of the tensions.

nytimes