The dispute over Thailand and Cambodia’s contested border, which dates back more than a century to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has broken into conflict before. However, the most recent clashes, which erupted on Thursday, have been fueled by another factor: a bitter feud between two powerful political patriarchs.
Cambodian Senate President and former prime minister Hun Sen, 72, and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, were once such close friends that they reportedly called one another brothers. Hun Sen has, over the years, supported Thaksin’s family during their long-running power struggle with Thailand’s military. Thaksin and his sister Yingluck stayed at Hun Sen’s home after they were ousted from power, while Hun Sen appointed Thaksin an economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
Thaksin frequently visited Cambodia, and Hun Sen was the first foreign guest to see the former Thai leader after he returned home after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.
Photo: EPA
However, relations have broken down spectacularly over recent months. The exact reasons for their feud are unclear, but analysts say it has created an additional layer of volatility that is exacerbating deadly clashes on the neighboring countries’ border.
Hun Sen and Thaksin are no longer in office in their respective countries, but both remain powerful. Hun Sen ruled for almost 40 years until 2003, when his eldest son, Hun Manet, became prime minister after running virtually uncontested in a sham election. Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra became the Thai prime minister last year.
The extent of their falling out became clear last month, when Hun Sen leaked a recording of a phone conversation between himself and Paetongtarn.
In the call, which was about the border dispute, Paetongtarn called Hun Sen “uncle” and told him if there was anything he wanted, she would “take care of it.” She also made disparaging comments about a senior Thai military commander.
The leaked recording caused uproar in Thailand. Critics accused her of kowtowing to Cambodia, putting her family connections before the country’s national interests. She was suspended from office by the Thai Constitutional Court earlier this month pending an investigation into ethical contraventions.
It is not clear why Hun Sen chose to turn on his former friends. He has accused Thaksin of betrayal and threatened to reveal further sensitive information about the Shinawatras.
“I never imagined someone so close could act this way,” Thaksin said later, declaring their friendship over.
Some analysts said that Hun Sen might be trying to whip up nationalism domestically to increase support for his son, Hun Manet.
Others suggest that Hun Sen has been angered by Thailand’s efforts to crack down on so-called “scam compounds” where trafficked workers are held and forced to target people around the world with online scams. This form of lucrative criminal activity has proliferated in the region in the past few years, especially in Cambodia.
“The popular narrative in Thailand is that the two men may have had some kind of personal dealings behind the scenes that did not go according to plan, and the fallout has spilled over into the realm of national interest,” said Tita Sanglee, an associate fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Whatever his motivations, Hun Sen has succeeded in damaging Thaksin’s position, exploiting divisions between his family and the military, and creating a power vacuum in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen “holds near absolute control in Cambodia,” and has stamped out virtually all opposition voices and independent media, Tita said.
“When he chooses to take a strong stance, militarily or politically, it has immediate and direct consequences,” he said.
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
POINTING FINGERS: The two countries have accused each other of firing first, with Bangkok accusing Phnom Penh of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai yesterday warned that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war,” as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis yesterday. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported that one civilian — a 70-year-old man — had been killed and
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
‘OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE’: Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen are to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss EU-China relations and geopolitical challenges Top leaders from China and the EU are to hold a summit in Beijing this week, as the major economic powers seek to smooth over disputes ranging from trade to the Ukraine conflict. Beijing and Brussels have been gearing up to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, but a suite of squabbles over state subsidies, market access and wartime sanctions have dampened the festivities. A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would visit on Thursday. The statement came after the EU
RSS