Thailand Launches Airstrikes Against Cambodian Military; Thousands Flee
London, UK, December 9, 2025
ASEAN Tensions Flare:
Thailand Launches Airstrikes Against Cambodian Military; Thousands Flee Amid Border Conflict
Headline Points:
• Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupt into deadly conflict involving the use of airstrikes.
• The Thai military confirms the launch of limited airstrikes in response to alleged incursions by the Cambodian Military.
• Clashes are centered around the disputed Preah Vihear temple area, a long-standing flashpoint between the two nations.
• Thousands Flee from both sides of the border as artillery and air exchanges intensify.
• ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) calls an emergency meeting to mediate the sudden and worrying escalation.
The fragile peace that often characterizes the relationship between Southeast Asian neighbors has been violently shattered. A dramatic escalation of border tensions has seen
Thailand Launches Airstrikes Against Cambodian Military; Thousands Flee a conflict zone centered around a long-disputed territorial claim.
This sudden eruption of hostilities, involving the use of military jets and artillery, marks a grave setback for regional stability and cooperation, immediately drawing urgent attention from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The decision by Thailand to deploy air power against the Cambodian Military signals a dangerous shift in the dynamics of this territorial row.
The conflict has reignited over the area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site whose ownership has been a source of diplomatic and military friction for decades.
According to the Thai military command, the airstrikes were a necessary retaliatory measure following sustained, unprovoked shelling and ground incursions by the Cambodian Military into clearly demarcated Thai territory.
Conversely, Phnom Penh claims the Thai forces initiated the hostilities by attempting to displace Cambodian border guards from their established posts. Regardless of the originating spark, the use of airstrikes has dramatically intensified the fighting.
The immediate humanitarian cost is steep. Reports from the border provinces confirm that Thousands Flee their homes on both the Thai and Cambodian sides, seeking refuge in inland displacement centers.
Local infrastructure, including schools and small hospitals, has been damaged by the shelling, further complicating the emergency response. Journalists and aid workers have been pulled back from the border as the fighting continues unabated, driven by nationalist rhetoric being fanned in both capitals.
The concern is that this is not merely a localized skirmish but a prelude to a larger, more sustained conflict.
Regional bodies have swiftly intervened. The ASEAN Secretariat has convened an emergency session of its Foreign Ministers to attempt to broker an immediate ceasefire.
The prospect of two ASEAN member states engaging in open, deadly conflict poses an existential threat to the bloc’s charter of non-interference and mutual respect.
The international community, including major world powers, is closely monitoring the situation, urging both Thailand and Cambodia to return to the negotiation table.
Until diplomacy succeeds, the desperate exodus of Thousands Flee the conflict zone will continue, turning this political dispute into a deepening humanitarian crisis. The sheer intensity of the fighting, triggered by the airstrikes, confirms that this border conflict is now one of the most critical security issues in the region.
