A clash has taken place between Thai and Cambodian troops at a disputed area of their border, Thailand’s military has said.
In a statement, the Thai military said Cambodian troops opened fire in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple – located on the countries’ shared border in northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province – early on Thursday.
It said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area with heavy weapons.
In May, a long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia boiled over into military clashes that left one Cambodian soldier dead.
The continuing border dispute has soured relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours, with the two sides trading barbs and tit-for-tat retaliatory measures, including the closure of border crossings.
Cambodia has also blocked imports of fuel and gas, as well as fruit and vegetables, from Thailand.
Most recently, on Wednesday, a Thai soldier sustained injuries and lost his right leg in a landmine incident.
In response, Thailand’s governing Pheu Thai Party said it had recalled Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia and will expel Cambodia’s ambassador from the country. Thailand has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Cambodia, the party said.
In response, Cambodia has withdrawn all of its diplomats from Thailand and ordered all Thai diplomats to leave the country.
The Cambodian government also downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to the “lowest level”, reducing it to the rank of “second secretary”, according to local news outlet the Phnom Penh Post.
Earlier, Thailand had accused Cambodia of placing landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border area between Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Province, after three soldiers were injured while on a patrol on July 16.
Cambodia claims the soldiers, one of whom lost his foot in the explosion, veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war.
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