ARANYAPRATHET, Thailand: Thailand’s prime minister and Cambodia’s influential former premier are visiting different parts of their disputed land border on Thursday as tensions simmer between the two neighbours over a territorial dispute and the Thai government teeters on the brink of collapse.
The deterioration of relations was sparked by brief armed clashes in a border area late last month that left one Cambodian soldier dead.
What followed were a series of tit-for-tat measures by both countries including troop mobilisations, Cambodia’s suspension of all fuel and gas imports from its neighbour, and the partial closure of checkpoints by Thailand along the 817 km (508 miles) land border.
The conflict has added fuel to a crisis facing Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is battling to revive a faltering economy and scrambling to keep a fragile coalition together in the face of protests as well as a parliamentary no confidence vote.
As she arrived on Thursday morning at the Thai bordertown of Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo province, opposite Cambodia’s Poipet, Paetongtarn was greeted by a crowd of supporters, with several of them holding a large sign saying “Love You Prime Minister Paetongtarn”.
The Prime Minister said the purpose of her visit was to survey the ongoing crackdown on transnational crime and gauge the impact of border restrictions, which saw Thailand halting all vehicles, tourists and traders from all land border crossings into Cambodia.
“We want to see the impact from this policy and what the government can do to help, this is our main goal for the visit today,” Paetongtarn said in a meeting with officials.
The Thai Prime Minister earlier this week linked the proliferation of illegal online scam centres to Cambodia, but Cambodian authorities have denied involvement.
Human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday accused Cambodia’s government of “deliberately ignoring” abuses by cybercrime gangs who have trafficked people from across the world, including children, into slavery at brutal scam compounds.
Amnesty said in a report that it had identified 53 scam centres and dozens more suspected sites across the country, including in the capital Phnom Penh.
