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News Analysis
Intense nationalism and disputed history — and maps — stoke the neighbors’ hostilities. Even a surge of international diplomacy has brought little hope of a lasting peace.
By Sui-Lee Wee
Reporting from Surin Province in Thailand, near the disputed border
July 30, 2025, 12:51 a.m. ET
It took days of cajoling and pressure from the United States, China and Malaysia — and a threat from President Trump — to get Thailand and Cambodia to come together to work out their two nations’ deadliest border conflict in decades.
That was the easy part.
On Tuesday, the Thai and Cambodian militaries agreed to implement a cease-fire. Both sides said that they would not deploy more troops to their contested border, bringing a tenuous peace after rocket launches, airstrikes and shelling that killed dozens and forced more than 300,000 people to flee their homes.
But questions remain about how long the lull can last. A key issue that brought the two neighbors to arms is their most intractable dispute: who can lay claim to the centuries-old Hindu temples along the border, dating back to the ancient Khmer Empire.
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Trust has seldom been in evidence between the two neighbors, and it has in no way been repaired after this latest violence. A personal feud between their de facto leaders has only added to the tensions.
On Wednesday and late on Tuesday, the Thai Army continued to accuse the Cambodian forces of starting gunfights. Cambodia rejected the accusations as false, saying that they “dangerously threaten the fragile trust and dialogue essential for lasting peace.”
