On December 8, Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire in many contested sectors. Most significantly the Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces. The Thai government launched F-16 airstrikes against what it described as Cambodian military rocket depots, and the Khmer people returned with heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers.
How Cambodia retaliated: Heavy rocket launcher attacks and heavy artillery
- Bombing of Poipet: The Thai Air Force bombed the critical cross-border trading center of Poipet, causing damage and injury to its residents.
- Rocket attack: Tens of thousands of medium range BM-21 rockets were fired by the Cambodians into Thai territory in the course of the renewed violence.
According to Thailand, the Khmer people started the recent escalation by placing mines that injured Thai soldiers in November and that they had protested the placement of the mines. However, Phnom Penh denied that such an event occurred.
Troops from both countries have placed additional troops along the border; and are positioning them to be prepared to respond to any further escalation of violence.
Cambodia will do whatever is necessary to defend their sovereignty
The Khmer people have stated they will continue to maintain their defensive positions in Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces, and that they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to defend their sovereignty.
Even though a meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur for emergency ASEAN ministerial talks in order to try to bring an end to the violence, the renewed violence threatens to undermine any progress that was made toward ending the violence.
Civilians are suffering greatly due to the violence
- Evacuation: Approximately 400,000 Thai citizens and 525,000 Cambodian citizens have been forced to leave their homes.
- Casualty figures: According to the Thai government, since December 8, there have been 21 soldiers killed, and at least one civilian directly injured (and 20 others injured by stress related causes) by the violence. The Khmer report that 18 civilians have died, and 79 have been injured in the violence.
- Humanitarian Crisis: Photographs and video footage show children, including very young children, hiding in rubble caused by damaged buildings and collapsing structures; which illustrates the humanitarian crisis in the area.
Each side is accusing the other of being responsible for the violence
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stated that “Thailand never wanted violence,” but added that Thailand will take action to protect its sovereignty, and that the recent violence was justified by encroachment on Thai land.
Neth Pheaktra, Information Minister of Cambodia, stated that the aerial strikes by Thailand had resulted in the loss of life of many civilians across Preah Vihear and Banteay Meanchey. ASEAN became the lead mediator in attempts to stop the violence, after many countries called for restraint from the international community.
Emergency ministerial meetings were held in Kuala Lumpur for foreign ministers of ASEAN to reaffirm commitments made under the July cease-fire and October Peace Accords.
The importance of using satellites to monitor the movement of both countries
The United States and China also urged the immediate cessation of hostilities and removal of large caliber weapons from both sides.
There does not appear to be an end to the conflict in sight
ASEAN still has the question of how it will enforce the compliance of both countries to the cease-fire agreement.
Additionally, there is little room for compromise due to internal pressures on each government to resolve the issue.
The mass displacement of the civilian population in the area increases the instability of the region and no solutions seem to be available or offered by either party. The situation along the Cambodia-Thailand border continues to escalate rapidly. While there has been momentum for diplomacy, the continued military action by both countries suggests that the foundation of the cease-fire remains weak and raises urgent questions regarding whether diplomacy can prevent all-out war.
