Thailand’s Cabinet, the Cambodian Border Dispute, and the Echoes of the Franco-Thai War

In June 2025, Thailand’s civilian-led government under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra finds itself navigating one of the most delicate diplomatic crises in recent memory: a re-escalation of the long-standing border dispute with Cambodia. The current standoff, which flared after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a disputed zone near the Emerald Triangle in Isaan, has reignited nationalist sentiment on both sides and drawn uncomfortable parallels with the region’s colonial past. 

 The Thai cabinet, composed of a coalition that includes technocrats, military veterans, and progressive voices, has been under pressure to respond firmly yet diplomatically. Paetongtarn, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has emphasized bilateral mechanisms and de-escalation, but her administration has also imposed border restrictions and, perhaps unwisely at least given Thailand's UN Human Rights Council status and OECD bid, signalled that Thailand will not accept Cambodia’s appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Cambodia, for its part, has retaliated with bans on Thai media, produce, and digital infrastructure. 

Senate President Hun Sen —still a dominant political force despite stepping down as prime minister— has invoked the language of sovereignty and resistance, warning of further military build-up if provoked. Releasing a taped phone call with PM Ing likely to eventually backfire as the Nixon Tapes scandals from Watergate. While wiser heads no doubt flagging up the impact on both nations with 2M Thai tourists to Cambodia and 500k KH workers to Thailand. Previous borders opening a rich seam of cultural exchanges rather than cultural wars, or shooting wars, with Khmer language or Khun dhrum and Mor lam music in Isaan? Both Thai and KH PM's - both of a new generation - educated in England: Surrey and Bristol universities also common ground for Edukashun, with English as an ASEAN official language. 

 At the heart of the dispute though lies a tangled history of colonial cartography and contested heritage. Much of the current tension stems from a 1907 map drawn by French colonial authorities, which Cambodia uses to assert its claims. Thailand, however, disputes the map’s accuracy and insists on natural watershed lines as the rightful border demarcation. This isn’t the first time these lines have sparked conflict. The overly-neglected 1940–41 Franco-Thai War saw Thailand, under Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, attempt to reclaim territories in modern-day Laos and Cambodia, ceded to French Indochina decades earlier. 

The brief but bloody conflict ended with Japanese-brokered negotiations and a treaty that returned some provinces to Thailand. However, after World War II, the Allies forced Thailand to relinquish those gains as part on UN entry conditions, and the border was largely restored to its pre-war status. The legacy of that war still lingers. The Preah Vihear temple, awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962, remains a flashpoint. In 2013, the court reaffirmed Cambodia’s sovereignty over the temple and its surrounding land, a ruling that continues to rankle Thai nationalists. 

 Aged disputes with UK territories in Deep South Malaysia also capable of being a hornet's nest. Although UK becoming a Development partner with Laos in the Mekong River Commission and indeed CPTPP suggests a more rounded Bowring-style approach. UK an honest broker on the Laos-Khmer border perhaps or Myanmar-Kok River style pollution/wildlife? Today’s dispute though is less about military conquest and more about national identity, historical memory, and political leverage. For Thailand’s cabinet, the challenge is to balance domestic expectations with international norms. ASEAN’s charter calls for peaceful resolution of disputes, but the current tit-for-tat measures—fruit bans, troop movements, and diplomatic snubs—suggest that both sides are playing into the hands of nationalist audiences. 

 As Thailand prepares to host the next round of border talks in September - paradoxically after successful talks on a trail of 45 border markers and LIDAR tech just a week ago - suggests the stakes are high. A misstep could inflame tensions further; a breakthrough could set a precedent for resolving other regional disputes. Surely the McMahon Line in India with China/Pakistan part of such a precedent? Either way, the shadow of the Franco-Thai War reminds us that borders drawn in ink can still bleed decades later.