After India-Pakistan conflict, THESE two countries are facing war-like situation, share close bond with China, they are...

After the world witnessed recent escalations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, two more countries are facing war-like situation. Both the countries are deploying a large number of troops on the border. 

These two countries are Thailand and Cambodia. On June 7, i.e., Saturday, Thailand's defence minister announced that the country has strengthened its military presence on the disputed border with Cambodia. This follows the deployment of additional troops by the Cambodian administration. 

Notably, the fresh conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is being seen as a jolt to peace efforts in East Asia. The current chairman of the Southeast Asian ASEAN block and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made efforts to establish peace between the two countries but were unsuccessful. Interestingly, both the countries share strong bilateral equations with China. 

Reasons behind the conflict 

Tensions escalated between the two Southeast Asian nations since a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash in an undetermined border area on May 28. For several days, the two countries exchanged measured, carefully worded statements vowing to go for dialogue. 

Later, Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand's deputy prime minister, said Cambodia had rejected proposals at bilateral discussions held on Thursday, i.e., June 5. 

"It's our stance, not to start conflict"

Phumtham Wechayachai said in a statement that the Thai government deployed additional troops on the border following a similar move by its Cambodian counterpart. "In addition, the military presence has been strengthened, which has increased tensions along the border. As a result, the Royal Thai Government has deemed it necessary to implement additional measures and reinforce our military positions accordingly,” he said. 

Moreover, Cambodian PM Hun Manet said in a speech on Saturday that it's "our stance not to start a conflict". It is our stance, not to start a conflict, but to defend ourselves. Our guiding principles are respect for international legal frameworks. These fundamental strategies are important to protect our country’s sovereignty,” said PM Manet.