Explained: Reasons for Thai-Cambodia border clashes and attempts at peace

New Delhi: The Thailand-Cambodia border has been witnessing military clashes recently, and they again reignited. This time just before as foreign ministers from Southeast Asian countries met in Malaysia under ASEAN to bring about a halt in the hostilities between the two countries. The military action, which was dormant for some time due to a ceasefire, started again early in December as both sides accused each other of breaking the ceasefire and starting military action.

The renewed clashes have killed dozens of people and forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee. Contemporaneously to this development, ASEAN nations’ representatives met in Kuala Lumpur to discuss how to stop the fighting and revive peace efforts.

The immediate outbreak of the latest clashes came after weeks of rising tension as both sides accused each other of launching attacks near contested areas. Thailand even used fighter jets in some strikes, while Cambodia has fired rockets and artillery into Thai border zones.

These escalations came after a short time where some semblance of peace was observed, but the ceasefire could not be kept in place for a long period of time. The fighting resumes and is principally occurring because of a disputed frontier that stretches about 800 km between the two countries. The control of this area, with villages and ancient temple sites, is being contested. Not just the designated owner of the land, but the stipulations of the border too are being contested and is what has ignited the military campaigns between the two countries. 

As is often the case worldwide, the border conflict between the two nations is a result of the border being drawn during the colonial era. The arbitrary nature of the border established then has resulted in current confusion, as both sides have claimed rights to certain border lands and cultural sites. An example of this is the area around hills and temple ruins such as Phu Makhuea near the Preah Vihear region, which has been contested for years.

Many extended rounds of hostilities throughout this year are proof of how fragile the peace is in this region currently. In July, heavy fighting broke out when arguments erupted over border demarcations and landmine incidents. After this, a ceasefire was negotiated with help from Malaysia and the United States.

This resulted in a temporary halt in military escalations, and later in October, both countries signed a peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur, with ASEAN support. Be it withdrawing heavy weapons from the border, setting up an ASEAN-led monitoring group and clearing landmines, the deal had a lot of points of mutual benefit for both parties. The peace deal though has not been able to be kept alive. Both sides now accuse each other of breaching the terms, and the fight continues.

The onus now lands on The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the major regional body trying to manage this crisis. The bringing an end of the hostilities would be a major test of the power of ASEAN, the conflict between the two warring nations being one of the most serious between any of its members in recent history. A return to a ceasefire, removal of heavy weapons and resumption of talks under an ASEAN purview are thus important today.