The Thai security forces pulled tear gas and rubber bullets while they encountered Cambodian demonstrators on Wednesday in a disputed border area. This is the most important escalation because they declared a ceasefire to end a fatal conflict of five days in July.
The confrontation took place in a disputed border colony, which, according to Thailand, is part of its village of Ban Nong Ya Kaew in the province of its Kaeo, but Cambodia says that is part of the village of Prey Chan in the province of Bantheay Meanchey.
On Wednesday, Cambodia Minister Neth Pheaktra accused the Thai officials of encroaching across the border on Wednesday and said they used “tear gas, rubber balls and noise creation devices against Cambodian civilians”.
According to Cambodian government spokesperson Pen Bona, Thai forces used violence to suppress non-armed Cambodian civilians and monks who protested peacefully.
Cambodian officials said more than two dozen Cambodians were injured during the confrontation.
The spokesman for the Thai army, Major-General, Winthai Suvaree, described the situation as a Cambodian crowd encroaching on Thai territory, obstructing operations and destroying official goods. He said the Thai authorities considered the incident as a provocation and an intentional violation of the cease-fire agreement.
At the end of July, Thailand and Cambodia were committed in five days of combat which killed dozens of people and moved more than 260,000. The two countries only agree on a cease-fire after the mediation favored by the Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the pressure of the American president Donald Trump, who threatened to retain the privileges of trade unless they contain a trial.
Tensions remain high after the ceasefire, especially since the Thai soldiers were injured by terrestrial mines while patrolling the lands of the ban between the two countries.
Thailand charges that the mines are newly planted in violation of the ceasefire, an accusation vehemently denied by Cambodia.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Manet called for an international intervention, urging pressure on Thailand to respect the ceasefire and fully adhere to the Cambodia-Thailand agreements.
The competing territorial claims of the two nations come largely from a 1907 map drawn when Cambodia was under French colonial domination, which argued that Thailand is inaccurate.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice granted sovereignty in Cambodia in an area which included the Preah Vihear temple, 1000 years old, which still pink many Thai people.
The court has since reaffirmed its judgment. In June, Cambodia proposed to return to the International Court to settle the border in the disputed areas, a proposal that Thailand firmly rejected.
With report by Pimuk Rakkanam, RFA Khmer, Reuters and AP