Displaced Cambodians flee again, and again, as Thai-Cambodia conflict continues

SIEM REAP – Thousands of displaced civilians on both sides of the disputed areas bordering Thailand and Cambodia have been forced to bolt as fierce clashes continued for more than a week, seeking shelter wherever they can – in pagodas, schools and hastily set up evacuation centres.

Some have had to flee more than others, as bomb explosions and artillery fire grew uncomfortably close.

Aerial bombings on the Cambodian side on Dec 15 sent thousands scattering yet again, this time heading farther inland about 90 minutes away from Srei Snam district, in Siem Reap province, towards Siem Reap city.

Until then, at least 2,000 people had been staying under pitched tents and on tarpaulin sheets on the grounds of the Chroy Neang Ngourn Pagoda in Siem Reap after 

fierce border clashes

between Thailand and Cambodia erupted again on Dec 8, following five days of fighting in July.

But the dreaded sight and sounds of military drones and fighter jets overhead soon had many of them scurrying away to safer grounds.

When The Straits Times visited the pagoda sheltering the evacuees on Dec 15, many were seen dismantling their makeshift tents and loading their belongings onto tractors and wagons. The compound was already significantly emptier compared with when ST first visited two days earlier.

At the time, many tents were pitched side by side on a plot of land stretching more than 400m outside the pagoda gates.

Mr Ek Khoeung, 65, who was packing up his belongings, recounted how he “saw the drones and felt the ground vibrations from the dropped bombs” in the distance.

The farmer had fled earlier from O’Smach, a small town in Oddar Meanchey province around 90 minutes by road to the pagoda, when fighting first erupted. He said: “I thought this place was safe, but now the bombing is coming closer and closer. I don’t know where a safe place is anymore.”

His home is close to the border with Thailand, and the area has seen significant clashes between the two South-east Asian neighbours over the century-old border dispute.

Another farmer, Ms Men Sokun, said: “It was very chaotic when the bombs dropped and people rushed to leave. Now it is quiet here.”

The 28-year-old mother of two has opted to remain on the pagoda grounds for now, although she is worried about “having only a motorbike, which can’t carry all of us”.

“I am worried (the Thai military) will discover the camp at the pagoda and bomb it, and we won’t be able to escape,” said Ms Sokun.

In a statement issued later on Dec 15, the Cambodian Defence Ministry accused Thailand of deploying fighter jets and dropping bombs on about 10 locations in the three border provinces of Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey and Pursat.

The Thai military, in turn, said in a Dec 15 statement that it had targeted areas which Cambodia “used as cover to launch military operations and utilise human shields”.

The situation remains tense, with no signs of cooling down.

Dr Petra Alderman, a researcher and manager of the Saw Swee Hock South-east Asia Centre, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told ST: “For now, de-escalation seems unlikely. This is mostly because Thailand is now gearing up for a snap election and there is more to be gained from continuing than resolving the conflict.”

Thailand is set to hold parliamentary

elections on Feb 8

, the election commission said on Dec 15, in earlier-than-expected polls that come after caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved Parliament on Dec 12. Mr Anutin looks set to tap burgeoning nationalism over the border conflict with Cambodia to boost his appeal in the polls.

As well as coinciding with the fierce conflict with Cambodia, the snap election comes as Mr Anutin seeks to recover his footing after 

a mismanaged disaster response

to devastating floods in southern Thailand, and perceptions of high-level links to Cambodia’s industrial-scale scam economy. 

Mr Anutin also inherited a sputtering Thai economy that has seen much of its potential frittered away by a cycle of political instability and military coups over the 

past two decades.

The ongoing clashes with Cambodia have “raised the popularity of the Thai military to levels not seen since the 2014 coup”, observed Dr Alderman.

“A renewed conflict with Cambodia is going to make it much more difficult for the progressive (opposition) People’s Party to campaign on issues surrounding the reform of the armed forces.”

A pro-military royalist, Mr Anutin has been in office for only three months, in what has effectively been an interim arrangement following the ouster from office of his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her handling of the previous round of border tensions with Cambodia. 

Mr Anutin, who had withdrawn his Bhumjaithai Party’s support from Ms Paetongtarn’s ruling coalition as her grip on power weakened, won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister in September on the back of support from the People’s Party. 

That unlikely political compromise came in exchange for a promise to dissolve Parliament within four months and to organise a referendum on drafting a new Constitution.

As the border clashes continue, international mediation efforts by US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have yet to yield results.

Both Mr Trump and Datuk Seri Anwar spoke to their Thai and Cambodian counterparts just days ago, urging them to revert to the original peace accord signed in October on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Malaysia.

Dr William Jones, assistant professor of international relations at Mahidol University International College in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand, suggests that one possible off-ramp from the conflict could be a “back-room mediation by the Chinese with Vietnamese support”.

“If the Vietnamese can leverage Chinese support to get (Cambodia’s former prime minister) Hun Sen to soften his stance and de-escalate, the Thai military may back away. The success or not of this will be seen on (Dec 22) with the emergency AMM (ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting),” he said.

A meeting of the regional foreign ministers had been scheduled for Dec 16, but Mr Anwar said both Thailand and Cambodia had requested a brief

postponement of the AMM

to allow the situation to stabilise. Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said later that the meeting had been postponed to Dec 22.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media agency Xinhua reported that a Foreign Ministry spokesperson had on Dec 15 called on the two warring parties to exercise utmost restraint and utilise every possible measure conducive to a ceasefire, so as to ensure de-escalation of tensions as soon as possible. 

Cambodia said the renewed border clashes have displaced at least 400,000 civilians, while Bangkok placed the number of displaced Thais at more than 258,000.

On the Cambodian side of the border, groups like Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international Christian organisation that runs relief and aid programmes, have brought relief with much-needed supplies for the displaced civilians – such as rice, eggs and mosquito nets.

A volunteer from Singapore, Ms Heather Lim, told ST: “We just want to help them (the displaced), support them and stand with them.” This is her first time volunteering in a conflict situation.

“Just our presence being here and just being with the people, being able to listen to them and talk to them, that’s the difference that we can make,” said Ms Lim, who works in the financial sector.

YWAM also has volunteers in Thailand who are helping similarly affected people on that side of the border. All lives are precious, so “we need to be kind and compassionate to help everyone”, she added.

In the end, the onus to pursue a path to peace lies with Thailand and Cambodia.

“Ultimately, whether any mediation will succeed in stopping this conflict will depend on the will of the political and military leadership in both countries,” said Dr Alderman.