Thailand bars citizens from crossing to Cambodia casino city

BANGKOK – Thailand banned its citizens from going to work in a casino city in Cambodia, the latest curb on border movements as tensions simmer between the two South-east Asian neighbours.

All Thais who are employed in casinos, gambling dens and other entertainment venues in Poipet are barred from leaving Thailand via checkpoints in Sa Kaeo province from the morning of June 17, according to a statement from the Royal Thai Army, which cited safety reasons. 

The Thai army had already tightened restrictions on land crossings over the border with Cambodia since early June. 

Relations remain tense after

troops exchanged fire on May 28

in the disputed Chong Bok border area, resulting in the death of a Cambodian soldier.

Both countries have built up troops along the border and shortened the operational hours of several land crossings that act as vital trade links.

Cambodia has sought to

get the International Court of Justice

in The Hague to help settle land disputes in four border areas with Thailand.

That has angered Bangkok, which has said it does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction. 

On June 16, former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, who is the father of the current premier, also called for a complete shutdown of the border crossings and

suspension of imports of Thai goods

if Bangkok didn’t fully lift restrictions on cross-border movements.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, meanwhile, said the cross-border curbs were necessitated by the presence of long-range weapons on the Cambodian side.

The Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia reported on June 17 that the import of fruit and vegetables from Thailand had been suspended, citing a senior official in the immigration department. 

Ms Paetongtarn has called on her counterpart Hun Manet for more bilateral talks between the two countries to resolve the tension and land disputes, after a so-called Joint Boundary Commission meeting over the weekend yielded no progress. BLOOMBERG