Clash with Cambodia and Pheu Thai's Trust Deficit
Why the border tensions are hurting perceptions of the government
Thailand-Cambodia border tensions
Thailand and Cambodia has been engaged in a new round of tensions over the border in the past week, with one recent standoff leaving one Cambodian soldier dead. I won’t go into the full details of the clashes, given that other analysts such as Sebastian Strangio at The Diplomat have already written good summaries. (The current tensions come after a long history of border disputes, especially around the Prah Viharn temple). Instead, I’ll focus this analysis on the domestic reaction to Pheu Thai’s handling of this border dispute.
On June 2nd, reports emerged that the Royal Thai Army had requested to close the border between Thailand and Cambodia. As Channel 3 reported:
On June 2nd, reports said that the government asked the army to exercise restraint towards the situation on the Thai-Cambodia border, after finding that Cambodia had heavily increased troop levels and heavy artillery in the Chong Bok area, which is a disputed area, and [the Cambodians] encroached on Thai territory..
…The army noted the areas in which Cambodian troops had encroached on Thai territory, which has caused alarm, and asked to close the Thai-Cambodian border in order to increase pressure on the Cambodian side. Inaction would be interpreted as acquiescence.
However, the government asked the army not to proceed with any action, fearing that there will be impact on trade in the border area, which would reinforce the domestic economic crisis in Thailand. In addition, there will soon be a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Committee.
There were previous reports that after news circulated of Thailand preparing to close the Thai-Cambodian border, General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Cambodia, had called Phumtham Wetchayachai, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, pleading for Thailand to not close the border…
As one can imagine, this was not well-received at all on Thai social media, with criticism raining on the Pheu Thai government for perceived weakness. Phumtham issued a clarification on the same day, saying that he had “consulted with the army several times” and they have decided to “set clear boundaries to try to reduce confrontation.” Closing the border, Phumtham argued, would “lead to repercussions on the livelihoods of the people and make it more difficult for the situation to ease.”
Today, the Thai government released the following statement:
…The current issue started from a brief clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in the area of Chong Bok, Ubon Ratchathani Province of Thailand, on 28 May 2025. The Thai troops were compelled to defend themselves, while conducting routine patrols within the area under Thai sovereignty in accordance with established practices.
This action was an act of self-defense and a necessary measure to protect Thailand’s sovereignty. The response was appropriate, proportionate, and consistent with international law.
Immediately following the incident, both governments have engaged in close consultations at all levels. The Prime Minister of Thailand also spoke directly with the Prime Minister of Cambodia on this matter.
Both sides agreed to work together to restore the situation to normalcy and to prevent escalation. Both sides also agreed to make use of existing bilateral mechanisms to resolve the issue. One such mechanism is the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), as discussed by the Army Commanders-in-Chief of both sides on 29 May 2025…
The Royal Thai Government assures the Thai people that all relevant agencies have made their utmost efforts in line with the relevant processes to protect Thailand’s sovereignty and full legal rights. The Government also affirms that the overall situation along the Thai-Cambodian border is currently calm.
This statement, while level-headed and careful, is unlikely going to be enough for the Pheu Thai government in satisfying its domestic critics. A big reason for this is that Pheu Thai already suffers from a trust deficit when it comes to national security issues, especially when it comes to Cambodia.
Pheu Thai’s trust deficit
Why does Pheu Thai have a “sovereignty problem” when it comes to Cambodia, so to speak? For one, Thaksin Shinawatra has long enjoyed unusually close ties with Cambodia’s Senate President and de facto leader, Hun Sen. While he was in self-exile, he was appointed as Hun Sen’s advisor in 2009, and Hun Sen visited Thaksin shortly after his release from Police General Hospital in 2024. (Hun Sen posted about how they recalled their “32 years of friendship”). On one hand, this crisis could play into Thaksin’s hands by allowing him to argue that his ties to Hun Sen makes him indispensable. Thaksin has already claimed that he “regularly talks to Hun Sen — there is nothing to worry about.” He added: “Instead of shooting each other, we can just play takraw1 with each other in the evening.”
But on the other hand, it is precisely this nonchalant attitude that Thaksin and Pheu Thai are displaying that is fueling distrust. Last year, rumors reached fever pitch that Thaksin and Hun Sen reached a “secret deal” over Thailand and Cambodia’s maritime disputes in the Gulf of Thailand, which the government was forced to deny. A similar dynamic is at play here, with activist Veera Somkwamkid already asking whether or not another deal is being forged. Far from Thaksin’s ties to Hun Sen making it look like he could be the critical factor in resolving the crisis, those very ties are instead compounding perceptions that their relationship has forced the Thai government to act meekly.
In the best case scenario — which is still not great — as the Naew Na newspaper’s editorial argued, Hun Sen was choosing to ignore Thaksin, thus making the relationship meaningless. Famous military reporter Wassana Nanuam said that the Thai government has “been too much of a gentleman.” She also said that Thaksin’s characterization of the border area as a “no man’s land” was “deeply hurtful” to the troops, because “even if that area is a forest, but it is an area that our ancestors and previous soldiers have protected and have shed blood for.”
It is not just Thaksin who suffers from a trust deficit. Defense Minister Phumtham Wetchayachai is also particularly vulnerable. Referring to his nickname while he was a member of the Communist Party of Thailand, national artist Surachai Chantimatorn charged that “Big Comrade” is mishandling the crisis. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society announced that it would launch an investigation after AI photos of Hun Sen patting Phumtham on the head began circulating on social media.
Fury at the government has come not just from conservatives but from progressives as well. Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut, leader of the People’s Party, wrote the following post which honed in on some of the criticisms I have outlined:
…The government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has seemed too quiet…in addition, Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister’s father, has communicated that there is nothing to worry about, because he can use his own personal relationships to alleviate the situation with Cambodia’s leaders.
However, Thaksin’s words amounted to pouring gasoline on a fire, because Cambodia’s leaders do not want to be seen as dealmaking with Thailand’s leaders, and so they have now acted even more aggressively, corresponding with with the sense of nationalism in Cambodia…
…Even more importantly, the integrity of our territory is an extremely important national interest. Thaksin and the Paetongtarn government must stop risking the national interest on Thaksin’s personal diplomacy…
…I have tried to adopt a positive perspective where the government does not want the conflict to intensify further, and so they have chosen to be overtly quiet. But we are seeing opposite results: the more inactive the government is, the more dissatisfaction will build up among the Thai people.
During these events, I have seen the government act in a professional and balanced manner, which is displaying both restraint towards aggression while not disregarding their job in defending our territorial integrity. Therefore, I call on the government to do their job in a similarly professional manner, not just restraining themselves and not doing anything…
This conflict has created an opening for the People’s Party — usually seen as antagonistic to the military — to take on the mantle of defenders of Thailand’s sovereignty. If nothing else, that is already putting Pheu Thai into an even deeper disadvantage in the battle for Thai hearts and minds.
A common sport in Southeast Asia. Some Thai media have dubbed this “changing battlegrounds into takraw grounds,” a play on Cold War era-PM Chatichai Choonhavan’s regional strategy: “changing battlefields to marketplaces.”