Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting each other?
Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting each other?
17 comments
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Large parts of Cambodia used to be part of Siam before being taken in unequal treaties. They got it back when they were pressured to join the axis in ww2. And then lost it again.
But the ancient khmer used to rule much of the region as well, including very significant religious sites now in thailand. Actually the eastern portion of thailand are ethnically khmer but are going Thaification. Isan for example is actually laotian & khmer in character.
I think the conflict is partially caused by internal thai power struggles since the military & thai monarchy are more sovereign in its character. Thailand also has been shifting towards the prc, despite being one of the closest western allies in the region since the cold war. Cambodia is meanwhile also ruled by a family since decommunization. And is closely tied to china economically.
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According to the Global times and Moderndiplomacy, it is due to the legacy of French colonialism.
Short answer:
“Many of the issues are not due to deep-rooted animosity between Thailand and Cambodia themselves, but rather stem from the lingering problems left behind when French colonialists withdrew,” Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Long answer -> https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2025/06/08/thai-cambodia-border-conflict-and-colonial-legacies/
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French
I came into this thread knowing basically nothing about the conflict but suspecting it's the French. And of course.
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Excellently helpful. Thank you!
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I thought this thread was a pretty good basic overview of the history around this conflict. One could go more in depth but it's useful information to know as a starting point. Basically it boils down to bad borders drawn by European imperialists.
Also since it's South East Asia you can bet the US is somehow involved in stirring up any conflict that breaks out, since they are the only ones who stand to gain from destabilizing the region. They have their fingers pretty deep in both countries.
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Someone posted this earlier and I feel it's the best answer so far.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/07/24/war-between-cambodia-and-thailand-around-an-ancient-temple/
Vijay Prashad boosted it on Twitter, seems OK.
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to be fair, people's dispatch is partly his initiative, so it's not a random endorsement
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17 comments
Brian Berletic (who lives in Thailand) made an excellent analysis of the situation: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3vpN5q2Zkmg
TLDR: Thailand has 2 pseudo-governments: the civilian government run by US-backed billionaires, and an independent Thai military which opposes US influence over Thailand. The US is using Cambodia, which they already mostly politically captured, to pressure the Thai military into another conflict to weaken them.
The phone call of cooperation between Cambodia and the Thai cilivian government was leaked by Cambodia on purpose to foment Thai outrage and force the Thai military to spend resources responding.
Berletic lives in Thailand and has spent several years recording the attempts the US has made to politically capture Thailand and turn them into Bonbon-Marcos-style Phillipines.
Idk... if you asked me, Cambodia is not necessarily politically captured by U.S only...
you can argued its been captured by China, with its Belt and Road initiative, let alone not minding Cambodia imports 42% from China vs 35% export from U.S, in your video
In this case, I'd argue Cambodia is just as split as Thailand
And if you ask me to choose a side, I'd prefer Cambodia, to at least take partial control of the lands that allow them to go to Preah Vihear temple to solve the issue, albeit peacefully.
Thailand has enough territory already (plus, some of those are more ethnically related to Lao or Cambodian people)
Everyone imports shit from China, since China makes everything. This is like saying the US is captured by China because it imports most of its shit from China.
You have to look at where Cambodia versus Thailand exports its stuff to. Berletic shows that Cambodia exports most stuff to the USA, thus making it economically subservient to the USA.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Berletic really shows his ass with this one. How can he make a video on the Thai military and not mention the constant military coups and extrajudicial killings?
Edit: I just remembered that Thailand was using F-16s and Gripen fighter jets, while Cambodia was going through old Soviet missiles.
He literally talks about that. Power flip-flops between the pro-US billionaire civilian government and the more independent Thai military. Every time the military takes power over the Western-backed billionaires, it's called a coup by Western media.
Obviously neither side is 'good', but I would rather Thailand not become Philippines 2.0. A 'democratic' billionaire-run government taking orders from the USA is not a democracy any more than the Thai military is.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: