Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand escalated Friday on the eve of talks on a border dispute as Cambodia cut internet services, stopped airing Thai movies and cancelled boxing bouts involving Thai fighters.
Cambodia also closed the Doung international border crossing point, known as Ban Laem on the Thai side, after Thailand had cut its operating hours there by half. The move left dozens of Thai cargo trucks stranded at the border.
The actions marked a deepening of a bilateral spat after a Cambodian soldier died in a clash on May 28, the latest episode in a long-running dispute over the demarcation of the 800-kilometer (500-mile) Thai-Cambodia border.
The two sides are holding talks Saturday in Phnom Penh at a Joint Boundary Commission meeting. While Cambodia will be represented by a minister, the Thai side is led by a former ambassador.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on Facebook that as of Friday, the country was disconnecting all internet bandwidth from Thailand, leaving businesses complaining of slow speeds.
The Cambodian ministries of information and cultures ordered television stations and cinemas to stop airing Thai movies and TV series. The Khmer Boxing Federation instructed all television stations and boxing arenas to cancel all scheduled matches involving Thai fighters, both male and female.
Former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is Hun Manet’s father, posted on Facebook that the closure of the Doung border checkpoint was blocking exports of Thai jackfruit heading via Cambodia to Vietnam. He urged Thai farmers to protest against the Thai military.
“Cambodia will only reopen this gate when all border checkpoints – unilaterally closed by the Thai military – are restored to mutual coordination as before,” Hun Sen wrote.
He also ordered all armed forces to be on 24-hour combat readiness in case of aggression, and instructed provincial governors along the border to prepare evacuation plans for civilians.
Thailand: Cambodia has misunderstood
On Friday, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said that Cambodia has misunderstood the situation and incorrectly believes the Thai government plans to cut electricity and internet services to border areas of Cambodia, Khaosod English, a Thai news portal, reported.
She emphasized this is not the case and has instructed the Foreign Ministry to clarify the matter with Cambodian counterparts.
Thailand reiterated Thursday that it wants to resolve the border dispute bilaterally, and does not support Cambodia’s intention to involve the International Court of Justice. Bangkok says it does not recognize the compulsory jurisdiction of The Hague-based court.
The border dispute, which has historical roots, stirs nationalist sentiment on both sides. Cambodia is calling for the U.N. court to rule on the demarcation of the border at three ancient Khmer temples – Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch and Ta Krabei – and at an area near to where the May 28 shootout happened where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet.
The last time there was a serious and bloody flare-up in tensions at the border was between 2008 and 2011, over a disputed 11th century temple at Preah Vihear. The International Court of Justice has granted sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia.
On Friday, social media posts and news media reporting showed long queues of pedestrians at the main border Thai-Cambodia crossing at Aranyaprathet-Poipet, suggesting some of the hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand were traveling home.
One Cambodian worker in Thailand’s central province of Rayong told Radio Free Asia that some workers are returning to Cambodia out of concern for their safety and because of discrimination by Thai nationals at their workplaces.
But the worker, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, added that most Cambodian workers in his area had not yet returned as they were waiting for the outcome of Saturday’s talks. He said that if the situation worsens, they will return to Cambodia soon.
Translated by Poly Sam. Edited by Mat Pennington.
