Thailand’s new PM vows to tackle Cambodia border conflict, economic woes

Tensions implicit borderline disputes had sharply escalated successful July during a five-day struggle betwixt the neighbouring countries.

Thailand’s caller premier curate has said his authorities volition suggest a referendum to code an ongoing dispute with its neighbour, Cambodia, implicit a demarcation agreement.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters connected Monday that “in bid to debar further conflict”, the authorities volition propulsion for a ballot connected whether Thailand should revoke the existing memorandum of knowing connected borderline issues with Cambodia.

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Thailand and Cambodia person agelong argued implicit undemarcated points on their 817km (508-mile) onshore border, but tensions sharply escalated successful July during a five-day conflict. The warring ended aft a ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia connected July 28.

In the worst warring betwixt the 2 countries successful a decade, astatine slightest 48 radical were killed and hundreds of thousands were temporarily displaced.

But for years, the 2 countries person relied connected an agreement, signed successful 2000, which sets retired the model for associated survey and demarcation of the onshore boundary.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul addresses the Parliament successful Bangkok, Thailand, September 29, 2025 [Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters]

In different statement successful 2001, it provided a model for practice and imaginable assets sharing successful maritime areas claimed by some countries.

However, successful Thailand, the agreements person travel nether nationalist scrutiny implicit the past decade, particularly pursuing the latest clashes.

According to Charnvirakul, the caller referendum would supply a wide mandate connected the substance of the agreements.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, cautioned against the revocation of the agreements arsenic solving the issue.

“Their revocation whitethorn not beryllium a nonstop solution to the struggle betwixt Thailand and Cambodia, due to the fact that it could make a vacuum,” helium told the Reuters quality agency.

“The authorities indispensable marque wide what volition regenerate them, and this has to beryllium agreed by Cambodia arsenic well,” helium said.

At the aforesaid time, Charnvirakul besides pledged successful his inaugural code successful Parliament to code the country’s system and propulsion for a caller and much antiauthoritarian constitution arsenic helium faces a self-imposed deadline to telephone for elections successful 4 months.