The Thailand-Cambodia border conflict

Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting?

France, which ruled Cambodia, and Siam, as Thailand was then called, drew the 817 km border in treaties of 1904 and 1907. French officers surveyed and mapped it. Thailand rejects parts of that French map line.

The temple of Preah Vihear sits on a cliff that faces Cambodia but is easiest to reach from Thailand. In 1962 the International Court of Justice ruled that it belonged to Cambodia. In 2013 the court gave Cambodia the whole promontory around it. Other temples along the border were never formally demarcated. They include Ta Muen Thom, which Cambodia calls Ta Moan Thom, and Ta Krabey, which Thailand calls Ta Khwai.

In February 2025, Thai soldiers stopped a Cambodian group from singing Cambodia's national anthem at Ta Muen Thom, and Thailand's army protested. On May 28, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a short firefight at Chong Bok, which Cambodia calls Mom Bei. Each side says the other fired first. Thailand closed all land crossings in June. On July 16 and July 23, landmines wounded Thai soldiers on patrol. Thailand said Cambodia had laid new mines, and it expelled Cambodia's ambassador on July 23. Cambodia denied laying new mines. It said the mines were left over from past wars and that the Thai patrols had strayed into Cambodian territory. On July 24, fighting broke out near Ta Muen Thom. Thailand says Cambodian troops opened fire. Cambodia says Thai troops attacked first. Thai F-16s struck Cambodian positions, and Cambodian BM-21 rockets hit Thai border districts. The Thai army confirmed that it fired cluster munitions and said it aimed them only at military targets. Cambodia called their use illegal. Malaysia brokered a ceasefire on July 28, after President Trump threatened to halt trade talks with both countries.

On October 26, Anutin and Hun Manet signed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord with Trump as a witness. Thailand suspended it on November 10, after a landmine wounded two Thai soldiers in Sisaket province. Fighting resumed on December 7. Thailand says Cambodian fire wounded two Thai soldiers that day. Cambodia says Thai troops attacked first. Thailand launched air strikes the next day. On December 15, Thai troops took Ta Krabey. Around December 22, Thai soldiers used a backhoe to tear down a Hindu statue of Vishnu in a disputed area. Cambodia condemned it. Thailand said the statue was not a registered religious site and had been put up to claim Thai land. A second ceasefire took effect on December 27.

How many people died in the Thailand-Cambodia war?

In the July fighting, Thailand said 16 of its soldiers and 14 civilians were killed. Cambodia's defense ministry said 5 Cambodian soldiers and 8 civilians were killed. That makes at least 43 dead in five days.

The December round was deadlier. News agencies put the toll at just over 100 by the December 27 ceasefire. Thailand said at least 25 of its soldiers and one civilian were killed. Cambodia said at least 21 of its civilians were killed but did not publish military losses. Thailand claimed that several hundred Cambodian soldiers had died. In January 2026, Nikkei Asia counted more than 110 Cambodian soldiers and police killed, based on Cambodian official posts and announcements.

The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) counted 175 deaths from organized violence in Cambodia in 2025. Its count of 122 for Thailand also includes the insurgency in Thailand's far south.

The fighting displaced about 300,000 people on both sides in July. In December, Cambodia's government said more than 640,000 Cambodians fled their homes, and Thailand said about 400,000 Thais were displaced. Most have gone back. In September 2026, more than 20,000 Cambodians still could not return because Thai troops held the land where they lived. Thailand says it has taken back Thai land.

How did a phone call bring down Thailand's prime minister?

On June 15, 2025, Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called Hun Sen, Cambodia's former prime minister and the father of its current one, to try to ease the border crisis. Part of the call leaked on June 18. Hun Sen said he had shared the recording with about 80 Cambodian officials. The same day, he posted the full 17-minute call on Facebook. In it, Paetongtarn called Hun Sen "uncle" and referred to a Thai army commander in terms her opponents called disloyal.

Thirty-six senators filed a petition with the Constitutional Court. The court suspended Paetongtarn on July 1. On August 29, it ruled 6-3 that she had breached ethical standards and removed her from office. She was the fifth Thai prime minister removed by the courts since 2008.

Parliament elected Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjaithai Party as prime minister on September 5. Anutin dissolved the House on December 12, 2025, during the second round of fighting. In the election on February 8, 2026, Bhumjaithai won 192 of 500 seats, up from 71 in 2023. Parliament re-elected Anutin on March 19, 2026.