Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Susan Katz Keating
Tensions exploded into open conflict along the Thailand-Cambodia border today after a drone sighting triggered military exchanges, including airstrikes, artillery barrages, and 12 reported killed. The clash marks the most serious escalation between the two nations in more than a decade.
The strikes followed an incident the previous day, when a landmine blast near the Chong An Ma border crossing injured five Thai soldiers. One man lost a leg. Thai forces say the mines were freshly planted by Cambodian units.
The flashpoint centers on the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple ruins in Surin Province, a centuries-old stone relic. Thai troops stationed nearby reported spotting a Cambodian unmanned aerial vehicle loitering overhead on Thursday morning. Minutes later, six armed Cambodian soldiers advanced toward a Thai military position behind a barbed-wire fence, weapons slung over their shoulders.
Cambodian border unit on patrol.
Thai soldiers issued verbal warnings. The Cambodians answered with gunfire, and the exchanges continued to escalate. The Royal Thai Air Force launched six F-16 fighter jets, striking two Cambodian military sites. Leaders from both sides, meanwhile, issued ominous statements on social media.
The roots of this conflict run deep. Though border skirmishes are not new, particularly around disputed temple sites, relations between the two countries have been relatively stable since a deadly conflict in 2011.
Now, troops are engaged across multiple flashpoints. And a drone is part of a centuries-old dispute.
Susan Katz Keating is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Soldier of Fortune Magazine.
