Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense announced that a Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday (May 28) in a brief exchange of fire with Thai soldiers in a disputed border area between the two countries.
Both sides stated that the incident occurred early Wednesday morning in the border area between Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province, and added that the military forces of both sides have ceased actions and will seek to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels.
In a statement, Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense said, “Thai soldiers first fired upon a trench that has long served as a base for Cambodian troops, resulting in the death of one of our soldiers.”
The Thai side claimed that their soldiers were attempting to negotiate with the Cambodian forces to vacate the disputed area, but the other side opened fire first. Thai military spokesperson Major General Winthai Suvaree stated that there were no casualties on the Thai side.
Winthai explained, “The Cambodian forces misunderstood the situation and started using weapons, prompting the Thai forces to retaliate,” with the exchange of fire lasting for about 10 minutes.
Despite historical hostilities between the two countries, the governments have maintained good relations due to the close ties between influential former leaders of both countries – Thailand’s ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The most recent deadly conflict between the two countries erupted in 2011 over the ancient Khmer Hindu temple of Prasat Preah Vihear, also known as Prasat Preah Vihear or Prasat Preah Vihear Temple, situated along the unmarked border between the two nations, which has been a source of contention for decades.
In February of this year, a group of Cambodians escorted by soldiers was stopped by Thai soldiers from singing the national anthem in front of the Preah Vihear Temple. Earlier this month, security officials from both countries met in Bangkok in an attempt to ease tensions following the border incident in February.
(This article is based on reports from Reuters)