Photo Essays | Security | Southeast Asia

In Photos: The Border Conflict Between Thailand and Cambodia

Scenes from the political and military front lines of last year’s undeclared war.

The 7-11 convenience store that was hit by a Cambodian BM-21 rocket on July 24, 2025, the first day of the five-day conflict, in Kanthalarak district, Sisaket province, July 27, 2025. Eight civilians were killed and 10 wounded by the unguided BM-21 rocket strike, which penetrated 20 kilometers into Thai territory.

Thai civilians evacuated from their homes in Surin province take shelter in a temporary aid center inside a university in Surin city, Thailand, July 26, 2025.

Thai civilians evacuated from their homes in Sisaket province take shelter in a temporary aid center inside a university in Sisaket city, Thailand, July 27, 2025.

Thousands of demonstrators protest the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over perceived ethical violations linked to her leaked personal phone conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen before the July war, at the Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, August 2, 2025.

A Thai demonstrator steps on portraits of former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) and his son, current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet during a protest against the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra at the Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, August 2, 2025.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra addresses the media during a press conference shortly after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed her and her entire cabinet from office due to ethical violations relating to her leaked phone call with Hun Sen, in Bangkok, Thailand, August 29, 2025.

The gate on the Thai side of the border separating Aranyaprathet, Thailand and Poipet, Cambodia stands locked shut due to the shattered relations between the two nations since the July war, in Aranyaprathet, Thailand, October 9, 2025.

Members of Thailand’s “Black Army” security forces take part in a night-time patrol looking for people illegally crossing the border which separates rural Sa Kaeo, Thailand from the southern portion of Poipet, Cambodia in Sa Kaeo, Thailand, October 9, 2025.

Members of the Royal Thai Army take part in demining activities as Cambodian civilians watch in the background in a disputed border area, October 10, 2025.

A Cambodian soldier and a civilian take smartphone photos/video as another looks on in a disputed border area in Sa Kaeo province, Thailand, October 10, 2025.

A workshop building hit by Cambodian artillery stands blown apart during the second phase of military clashes in Phanom Dong Rak district, Surin province, Thailand, December 19, 2025.

Thai civilians evacuated from their homes due to their proximity to the Cambodian frontline wait in line for food and other aid at a large internally displaced person’s center on the outskirts of Buriram city, Thailand, December 15, 2025.

A local police officer walks past a bunker 10 kilometers from the Cambodian border in Surin province, Thailand, December 19, 2025.

A young girl removes her sandals before entering a fortified concrete bunker during the second phase of military clashes in Surin province, Thailand, December 19, 2025.

A mother and her baby sleep inside a fortified concrete bunker as another child plays on her smartphone in Surin province, Thailand, December 19, 2025.

An artillery shell fired by the Royal Thai Army flies through the air toward the Cambodian border, approximately 14 kilometers away on the horizon, in this long exposure image during the second phase of military clashes in Surin province, Thailand, December 20, 2025.

The mother of fallen Private Phanupat Sausa holds a portrait of her son as she goes to sit down before the start of military honor guard ceremony for the Private as well as Sergeant Major Samroeng Klangprakon, who were both killed fighting Cambodian forces during the second December phase of military clashes, in Prasat, Thailand, December 21, 2025.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (center) prays while kneeling in front of the casket of Private Phanupat Sausa during the military honor guard ceremony in Prasat, Thailand, December 21, 2025.

A Royal Thai Army soldier performs a traditional wai while kneeling in front of a recently filled funerary niche containing the cremated remains of Master Sargent Ananda Udon in the military mausoleum inside the Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, February 3, 2026.

A home hit by a Cambodian BM-21 rocket during the December war stands destroyed in Sa Kaeo, Thailand, February 5, 2026.

A fighting trench with netting strung over the top in order to block attack drones stands in a former frontline battleground during the December war in Baan Nong Chan, Sa Kaeo, Thailand, February 5, 2026.

A metal shipping container and piled tires mark the final checkpoint barrier marking Thai controlled territory in Baan Nong Chan, Sa Kaeo, Thailand, February 5, 2026.

Smartphones and bank books found in nearby homes that Thai authorities alleged were used in the committing of online scamming operations stand on display in Baan Nong Chan, Sa Kaeo, Thailand, February 5, 2026.

The Thai-Cambodian border dispute has a history that long predates the recent outbreaks of fighting. The two major military engagements in July and December 2025 were the latest eruptions in a long-running dispute over parts of their 817-kilometer frontier, especially around ancient temples and poorly demarcated stretches where sovereignty claims don’t neatly align.

Starting in March of last year, frictions between the two sides escalated from patrol incidents toward sustained armed conflict. On May 28, Thai and Cambodian troops briefly exchanged fire in a disputed border area, killing one Cambodian soldier. Each side subsequently blamed the other for the attack.

Thai patrols also reported being injured by several landmines in the border area, an especially contentious issue because both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines. By June, after Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen leaked a phone call with Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand shifted to coercive pressure. It began to link the conflict to the multinational online-scam networks in Cambodia, accusing the country of shielding operations that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims worldwide – an argument Bangkok used to justify tighter border closures and other restrictive measures. Hun Sen remained a central figure as Senate President, issuing wartime statements and backing Cambodia’s posture, while analysts and critics continued to link his power networks to parts of the scam economy.

On June 24, Thailand’s military closed all land border crossings with Cambodia in seven provinces, citing security concerns. Full-scale combat began on July 24, when small-arms clashes escalated into heavy shelling and Thailand’s deployment of F-16 fighter jets. That day, a Cambodian BM-21 rocket also hit a PTT station 7-Eleven in Kantharalak, Sisaket province, killing eight people and injuring 13, becoming a symbol in Thailand of the conflict’s civilian toll.

A ceasefire followed, brokered through talks in Malaysia, taking effect on July 28, after five days of fighting and large-scale civilian displacement on both sides. Thailand and Cambodia subsequently signed an expanded ceasefire framework on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26.

But violence erupted again on December 8 and quickly spread along the border. After nearly three weeks of intense fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than a million on both sides, Phnom Penh and Bangkok agreed to a new ceasefire on December 27, which remains fragile.

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The Thai-Cambodian border dispute has a history that long predates the recent outbreaks of fighting. The two major military engagements in July and December 2025 were the latest eruptions in a long-running dispute over parts of their 817-kilometer frontier, especially around ancient temples and poorly demarcated stretches where sovereignty claims don’t neatly align.

Starting in March of last year, frictions between the two sides escalated from patrol incidents toward sustained armed conflict. On May 28, Thai and Cambodian troops briefly exchanged fire in a disputed border area, killing one Cambodian soldier. Each side subsequently blamed the other for the attack.

Thai patrols also reported being injured by several landmines in the border area, an especially contentious issue because both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines. By June, after Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen leaked a phone call with Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand shifted to coercive pressure. It began to link the conflict to the multinational online-scam networks in Cambodia, accusing the country of shielding operations that exploited trafficked workers and defrauded victims worldwide – an argument Bangkok used to justify tighter border closures and other restrictive measures. Hun Sen remained a central figure as Senate President, issuing wartime statements and backing Cambodia’s posture, while analysts and critics continued to link his power networks to parts of the scam economy.

On June 24, Thailand’s military closed all land border crossings with Cambodia in seven provinces, citing security concerns. Full-scale combat began on July 24, when small-arms clashes escalated into heavy shelling and Thailand’s deployment of F-16 fighter jets. That day, a Cambodian BM-21 rocket also hit a PTT station 7-Eleven in Kantharalak, Sisaket province, killing eight people and injuring 13, becoming a symbol in Thailand of the conflict’s civilian toll.

A ceasefire followed, brokered through talks in Malaysia, taking effect on July 28, after five days of fighting and large-scale civilian displacement on both sides. Thailand and Cambodia subsequently signed an expanded ceasefire framework on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26.

But violence erupted again on December 8 and quickly spread along the border. After nearly three weeks of intense fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than a million on both sides, Phnom Penh and Bangkok agreed to a new ceasefire on December 27, which remains fragile.

Adryel Talamantes (b. 1986) is a photojournalist originally from the United States, based in Bangkok, Thailand since 2015. Adryel’s passion for visual media, encompassing both still photography and video, stems from his desire to share individual moments in a clear, unfiltered context. His work primarily focuses on news and documentary subject matter, and he has covered stories in Cambodia, the Hong Kong S.A.R. (China), Iraq, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and the USA.

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