ARANYAPRATHET, Thailand — Thailand’s prime minister and Cambodia’s influential former premier are visiting different parts of their disputed land border on Thursday as tensions simmer between the two neighbors over a territorial row and the Thai government teeters on the brink of collapse.
FAR FROM FATIGUED Cambodia’s former prime minister Hun Sen delivers a speech during a visit to his country’s troops stationed in northwestern Oddar Meanchey province, along the border with Thailand, on June 26, 2025. PHOTO FROM AGENCE KAMPUCHEA PRESSE VIA AFP
The deterioration of relations was sparked by brief armed clashes in a border area late last month that left one Cambodian soldier dead.
What followed were a series of tit-for-tat measures by both Southeast Asian countries, including troops mobilizations, Cambodia’s suspension of all fuel and gas imports from its neighbor, and Thailand’s partial closure of checkpoints along the 817-kilometer (508-mile) border.
The conflict has added fuel to a crisis facing Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is battling to revive a faltering economy and scrambling to keep a fragile coalition together in the face of protests, as well as a parliamentary no-confidence vote.
As she arrived on Thursday morning at the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet in eastern Sa Kaeo province, opposite Cambodia’s northwestern Poipet province, Paetongtarn was greeted by a crowd of supporters, with several of them holding a large sign saying “Love You Prime Minister Paetongtarn.”
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The premier said the purpose of her visit was to survey the ongoing crackdown on transnational crime and gauge the impact of border restrictions, which saw Thailand halting all vehicles, tourists and traders from all land border crossings into Cambodia.
“We want to see the impact from this policy and what the government can do to help, this is our main goal for the visit today,” Paetongtarn said in a meeting with officials.
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The prime minister earlier this week linked the proliferation of illegal online scam centers to Cambodia, but Cambodian authorities have denied involvement.
Human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday accused Cambodia’s government of “deliberately ignoring” abuses by cybercrime gangs who have trafficked people from across the world, including children, into slavery at brutal scam compounds.
In a report, Amnesty said it had identified 53 scam centers and dozens more suspected sites across the country, including in the capital Phnom Penh.
A Cambodian government spokesman said the country rejected allegations of inaction.
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Controversial call
At another part of the border, former Cambodian premier Hun Sen on Thursday morning visited troops and officials in northwestern Oddar Meanchey province, opposite Surin province in northeastern Thailand.
Local media footage showed Hun Sen, in military fatigues, arriving by helicopter and meeting with officials in the area.
The two leaders have, until recently, enjoyed warm personal ties, helped by the close relationship between Hun Sen and Paetongtarn’s influential father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
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But in a leaked phone conversation with Hun Sen, Paetongtarn was heard denigrating a Thai military commander — a red line in a country in which the military holds significant clout — piling political pressure on Bangkok.
The prime minister has since apologized over the leaked call but the incident was used as a justification by Thailand’s Bhumjaithai party to leave the government coalition last week.
Bhumjaithai said earlier this week that it would seek a no-confidence vote against Paetongtarn and her Cabinet over the leaked call.
Paetongtarn is also facing judicial scrutiny after a group of senators gave the Constitutional Court and a national antigraft body a wide remit to investigate her conduct. Decisions from either bodies could lead to her removal.
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Antigovernment groups are also planning a street protest starting Saturday, demanding her resignation.
