Roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict
The long-simmering conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over the demarcation of their 817km border has exploded in 2025, with batteries of air strikes and heavy artillery that have killed more than 40 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
But what are the root causes of the clashes?
In this epic edition of Bangkok Post’s “Deeper Dive” podcast, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, explains that the resentments date back a thousand years, the disputed border is a colonial legacy, and the hostilities are intertwined with Thai and Cambodian domestic politics.