Thailand Spat in Trump’s Face, Cambodia is now paying the price
The Chey Chun Neah Bridge, known as the ‘Victory Bridge’, in Pursat province, was destroyed by Thai F-16 fighter jets on December 13. AKP
-Opinion-
Thailand’s refusal to heed Malaysia’s ceasefire call is alarming. Its refusal to listen even to a call from Donald Trump, whose country supplies Thailand with fighter jets, is unmistakable. This was not diplomacy ignored. It was diplomacy insulted. Politically speaking, Thailand spat in Trump’s face. What followed was not restraint, but escalation.
On December 13, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for an immediate ceasefire. Cambodia accepted. Thailand refused. Hours later, in the early morning of December 14, Thai forces escalated their attacks, using US-made F-16 fighter jets and heavy weapons, including toxic smoke, deep inside Cambodian territory.
Civilian homes, schools, temples, pagodas, bridges and roads were destroyed. Cambodia has no air force capable of responding. There is no balance of power here, only overwhelming force used against a defenceless population.
Thailand claims Cambodia fired first. Cambodia asked for satellite verification. Thailand refused. Cambodia proposed taking the dispute to the International Court of Justice. Thailand refused again. If Thailand’s actions are justified, why reject every independent mechanism meant to establish the truth?
When attacks reach deep into another sovereign country, this is not self-defence. It is invasion. In one key respect, it is worse than Ukraine. Ukraine has fighter jets and international military backing. Cambodia has neither.
The most disturbing fact is not only the bombing. It is the silence. The UN remains quiet. The international community looks away. Silence in this case is not neutrality. It is permission.
History will remember who used fighter jets against civilians. It will also remember who refused to stop when the world asked.
Neang Sopheap is a Phnom Penh-based analyst. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
-The Phnom Penh Post-
