Hostages of Ambition: Cambodia’s Pain After the Ceasefire
The mother of one of the captured soldiers holds a portrait of her son, as her community gather around to support her. Supplied
– Opinion –
The ceasefire was meant to bring peace. Instead, it became a stage for new humiliation.
Eighteen Cambodian soldiers remain in captivity, still not released after the agreement. Their families wait in torment, while the Thai side uses this as leverage, ignoring all international norms of prisoner treatment. This alone reveals that what Thailand wants is not peace — it is power through pressure, even at the expense of human dignity.
Then came the stones. Thai soldiers, instead of lowering their weapons, began using slingshots to throw rocks at Cambodian soldiers. To the outside world this may look like childish mischief — but in reality, it is psychological warfare. By reducing combat to humiliation, Thailand signals its aim: not just to defeat, but to degrade. This is a tactic of control through shame.
And worse still, poison entered the skies. Thai forces deployed drones and fighter aircraft, spreading toxic powder across the border. These are not battlefield tools — they are tools of terror. The Thai military’s own spokesperson has admitted to these tactics. Poison is not just a weapon; it is a message that Cambodia’s soil, water, and people can all be contaminated at will. It is a strategy of fear designed to break civilian morale and turn daily life into a battlefield.
On the ground, razor wire and old tyre barricades are constantly moved, day after day. To an untrained eye, this may seem meaningless. But strategically, it is a creeping encroachment. By shifting the lines, Thailand seeks to create a new “normal”, where Cambodian land slowly, quietly, becomes theirs without a single formal declaration. This is not defence — it is slow-motion invasion.
A War of Words and Threats
At the same time, Thai government officials, generals, and spokespeople wage another war — the war of words.
From The Nation to Bangkok Post to Khaosod English, Thai media outlets echo their government’s threats.
Threats to accuse Cambodia of provocations. Threats to arrest our former Prime Minister and even our current one. Threats to sue Cambodia in the International Criminal Court — a court that Thailand is not even a member of.
Each statement is designed to achieve three strategic goals:
Shift blame — by painting Cambodia as the aggressor, they hope to confuse the international community.
Create chaos — by constantly introducing new “cases” and scenarios, they prevent the world from seeing the core truth of aggression.
Exert pressure — by threatening Cambodian leaders personally, they try to weaken Cambodia’s political resolve from the top down.
This is not the language of peace. It is the language of intimidation, propaganda and manufactured legitimacy.
The Hidden Ambition
As a citizen of this earth, I must say: I have never seen such inhumane actions being carried out in the 21st century. The capture of 18 soldiers, the daily humiliation with slingshots, the spreading of poison powder from drones, the endless shifting of razor wire and tyre barricades — all of this is not random. It is systematic. It reveals a hidden ambition.
If I were a Thai citizen, I would feel deep shame before the world. How can a nation that calls itself a brother to Cambodia choose to act like this? These are not actions of defence. These are not actions of a nation seeking peace. These are the actions of a state pursuing ambition at any cost, even by sacrificing its own dignity in the eyes of the international community.
What is this ambition?
Territorial Expansion by Stealth
By slowly moving markers, razor wire and boundaries, Thailand is not preparing for defence — it is redrawing the map. This is a classic strategy of creeping annexation. Small moves each day may look meaningless, but over months they establish “facts on the ground”. Once the world grows accustomed, Thailand will claim those areas as its own.
Psychological Domination of Cambodia
The slingshots and stones may seem childish, but their goal is humiliation. Poison powder in the skies is not just physical harm — it is terror. The strategy is to break Cambodian morale, to make soldiers feel mocked, civilians feel unsafe and leaders feel besieged. When the spirit of a nation is weakened, resistance becomes harder.
The War of Identity Erasure
Beyond the physical battlefield lies a deeper war: the erasure of identity. For centuries, Khmer provinces lost to Thailand were stripped of their language and renamed. Temples built by Khmer ancestors were rebranded as “Thai heritage.” Even the term Khom was invented to disguise Khmer origins. Today, this strategy continues. Every new accusation against Cambodia in Thai media, every dismissal of Khmer history, is part of a campaign to rewrite memory. The ambition is not only to claim land — but to erase the idea that Khmer ever owned it. When a nation loses its history, it loses its future. This is why the struggle is existential.
Political Leverage Over Cambodia’s Leadership
By threatening to arrest Cambodia’s ex-Prime Minister and even the current one, Thailand is signalling that it does not recognise Cambodian sovereignty as equal. Instead, it wants to reduce Cambodia’s leaders to defendants in its own manufactured cases. Even the threats of going to the ICC — a court Thailand is not a member of — show their aim is not law, but pressure.
Internal Power Games Within Thailand
Thaksin Shinawatra, long accused of corruption and manipulation, has already suffered losses in this war — both politically and financially. But he is not acting alone. The Thai military, backed by elements of the royal palace, sees this conflict as an opportunity. Each faction — the political machine and the military establishment — seeks to benefit, whether by distracting from domestic crises, securing loyalty, or maintaining their grip on power.
Regional Geopolitical Signalling
Thailand also wants to show the region — and the world — that it can act without consequence. By attacking Cambodia openly yet avoiding strong international backlash, Thailand is testing how far it can push. This is less about Cambodia alone and more about demonstrating dominance in mainland Southeast Asia. Cambodia becomes the victim, but the audience is the world.
The result is devastating: a permanent cycle of tension that allows Thai elites to profit while Cambodia bleeds. The real victims are not only Cambodian civilians and soldiers, but also ordinary Thai citizens — farmers, workers, mothers and children — who gain nothing from this reckless ambition except shame in the eyes of the world.
This is why the conflict must not be dismissed as “border skirmishes”. It is a carefully constructed strategy of domination, fuelled by ambition, and executed through humiliation, propaganda, creeping invasion — and the most dangerous weapon of all, the erasure of identity.
Conclusion: Truth Will Outlive Ambition
The truth will always carry, from one corner of the world to another. No matter how much a fake nation tries to cheat and lie, the day will come when their darkness is exposed. A state that builds its power on deception will eventually face collapse, for lies cannot stand against the weight of history.
Cambodia must remain vigilant, not only on the battlefield but in the realm of identity, memory, and dignity. Our soldiers guard the border, but our people must guard the truth. Every story told, every fact remembered, every temple reclaimed in words and deeds — these are weapons stronger than poison or stones.
The international community must also open its eyes. What is happening along the Cambodian border is not a small quarrel. It is a calculated strategy of domination, humiliation and erasure. Silence in the face of such acts is complicity. Nations who value justice must call these actions what they are: violations of human rights, violations of sovereignty, violations of truth itself.
For Cambodia, the path forward is clear. We cannot bow, we cannot forget, and we cannot surrender our history. We must turn suffering into testimony, and testimony into strength. Because when lies fall, truth stands. And when the darkness of ambition fades, it is the light of truth — carried from one corner of the world to another — that will remain.
Dr. Thourn Sinan is a spiritual & tourism professional. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
The Phnom Penh Post
