One Year Later, Cambodia and Thailand Must Prevent Conflict From Becoming the New Normal

A mother holds a picture her soldier son who was killed on May 28, 2025 by the Thai military, which leads to the escalation of the border armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand | Photo: Heng Sreylin

In an article for Cambodianess, Him Rotha and Sreng Hengsal commemorate one year since the start of the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. They assert that both nations must prevent this conflict from becoming the new normal.

It has been a year since Cambodian and Thai troops first exchanged gunfire in the Emerald Triangle, a remote border area shared with Laos, triggering the worst crisis between the two neighbors in more than a decade.

On May 28, 2025, the clash left a Cambodian soldier dead and set off months of military escalation, political hostility and diplomatic retaliation. Both governments quickly accused the other of firing first, turning what began as a localized border incident into a wider political and economic confrontation.

The shooting shattered one of Southeast Asia’s closest bilateral relationships in the very year Cambodia and Thailand were supposed to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties. By July 24, the standoff had escalated into open warfare, followed by five days of heavy fighting along contested stretches of the border.

A second and even deadlier round of clashes erupted in December, lasting more than three weeks and causing heavier casualties and deeper destruction on both sides.

Nearly a year later, large-scale fighting has largely stopped, but relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok remain deeply strained. Diplomatic ties have yet to fully recover, border trade continues to face disruptions, and regional actors have struggled to push both sides toward a durable political settlement.