Thailand and Cambodia Again Engage in Firefights, Thai Military: Cambodia Opened Fire First
Thailand and Cambodia had just ceased fire for two months, but they are fighting again.
CCTV News reported that on September 27 local time, Colonel Vanchai Suvaree, a spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, stated that on that day, the Royal Thai Army received a report from the Second Army Corps that Cambodian soldiers fired at Thai military positions at the border of Ubon Ratchathani Province. The Thai special forces have entered a high state of alert and have taken corresponding measures according to the situation.
The Thai newspaper "Nation" claimed that the Cambodian army used machine guns to fire at the Thai military positions and launched grenades. The Thai military had no choice but to open fire in response. It is currently unclear whether this incident caused any casualties, and the Thai military is investigating more detailed information.
However, the Cambodian side accused the Thai military of opening fire first, stating that the Cambodian military maintained a high level of restraint and did not retaliate.
According to reports from both sides' media, the cause of this recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand is related to the border coordination mechanism reached after the conflict in mid-July was resolved.
In the days before the firefights, Thailand had previously accused Cambodian soldiers of carrying weapons into sensitive areas along the border between the two countries, as well as having issues with the identities of personnel from the ASEAN Military Observer Group - Malaysia directly sent a Lieutenant General of the Army to serve as the head of the observer group, but Thailand believed that this person was not the ASEAN military attaché in Phnom Penh and was not qualified to serve as the head of the observer group.
The original words of the Thai media were: The Second Army Corps of the Royal Thai Army believes that these actions clearly show that Cambodia has no sincerity in fulfilling the ceasefire commitments made by the General Boundary Commission (GBC) and the Regional Boundary Commission (RBC).
Except for this major conflict, since the ceasefire agreement was reached in mid-July, there have been constant minor friction between Cambodia and Thailand, such as dismantling border fences, requiring the other side's civilians to evacuate first from disputed areas, installing cameras for surveillance, exchanging threats about reclaiming "lost territories," etc. In short, these various small and large frictions and conflicts inevitably lead to another outbreak of hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand.
Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1844410375849225/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author.