(Phnom Penh): I usually try to stay out of international politics. Not because I don’t care, but because there are always more sides to a story than any one person can fully grasp. Still, I feel compelled to speak up now. Not to preach, not to claim absolute truth, but to start a conversation and share what I see happening between Thailand and Cambodia.
The two countries have a long history of border disputes, many of them rooted in French colonial-era maps. That much is not new. What is new is the scale and nature of the current escalation. This is no longer about a few contested meters of land. Cambodia is being surrounded and attacked by air, land, and sea. Thai forces are operating inside Cambodian territory. Cambodian forces are not inside Thailand.
The imbalance is stark. Thailand’s military budget is roughly four times that of Cambodia. Its armed forces are significantly larger, and it has full air and naval dominance. Over the past week, this power has been used aggressively: naval shelling of coastal towns, F-16 jets striking military positions and civilian infrastructure. Cambodia has no fighter jets and virtually no defense against air attacks. This is a large, well-equipped military confronting a much smaller one, and the direction of aggression matters.
Much of the mainstream regional media is failing to reflect this clearly. Thailand is wealthier, hosts many major media outlets, and has far greater influence over how this conflict is framed. In wars today, the media battle often follows the money. That should worry all of us.
What troubles me most, though, goes deeper than strategy or geopolitics. Cambodia is a deeply traumatized country. The scars of the Khmer Rouge and decades of conflict are not ancient history. They live in families, villages, and collective memory. As hundreds of thousands of people flee yet again, that old trauma is being reopened. Cambodia knows the cost of war in a way very few nations do.
I cannot watch the suffering of Cambodian civilians in silence. And because I also care about ordinary Thai citizens, many of whom are being dragged into a war they did not choose. I love both countries. I have spent time in both. This is not about choosing sides between people. It is about holding governments accountable.
Cambodia welcomed international mediation. Thailand rejected it. External leaders cannot end this war on their own. But public pressure matters. Truth matters.
If this conflict is hidden or misrepresented, it will drag on. If it is seen clearly, pressure builds. Governments respond to that.
To my Thai friends especially: elections are coming. Please vote for leaders who seek peace rather than escalation. War benefits very few, and never the people who pay the highest price.
No one wins a war. It leaves only loss, grief, and damage that lasts for generations.
Please don’t stay silent. At the very least, talk about what is happening. Awareness is not everything, but it is a start.
This article was written by Raymon Stoppelenburg.
=FRESH NEWS
