Thailand–Cambodia: Border War or New US Proxy War in Asia?

From July 22 to 27, a violent armed clash erupted between Thailand and Cambodia, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and mounting mutual accusations. The conflict erupted around the historic disputed area of Preah Vihear—an 11th-century temple at the center of ancient disputes—but quickly spread to more distant territories, affecting civilian and military targets.

A sudden escalation: bombs, rockets and propaganda

According to regional and international sources, heavy artillery exchanges occurred along the northwestern border between July 22 and 27, 2025. Cambodia used BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers against Thai targets, including clinics, markets, and even schools. Thailand responded with combat drones, targeted airstrikes, and precision artillery, striking military bases and ammunition depots in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province.

The partial toll speaks of over 30 civilian casualties and 10 soldiers killed on both sides, but the information is often conflicting and subject to censorship or propaganda.

It's not just a question of borders: who pulls the strings?

According to independent analysts such as Brian Berletic (aka Tony Cartalucci), author of the website The New Atlas and founder of the blog “Land Destroyer,” the conflict was deliberately triggered as part of a broader strategy to destabilize Southeast Asia, under the covert direction of Washington.

“The United States is trying to do to Thailand and China what it has already done to Russia: create instability, internal divisions, proxy wars.” — The New Atlas, July 26, 2025 Source

The Asian press is increasingly reporting that the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is not just a border dispute, but a targeted operation to hinder China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

One of the main objectives would be the Pan-Asian High-Speed Railway , over 6,000 km long, intended to transform Southeast Asia into an integrated logistics corridor. A strategic section in Cambodia was scheduled to open next year, connecting Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok and, from there, directly to China. This would be a crucial link for the economic integration of the entire region under Chinese control.

This is not the first time that such infrastructure has been sabotaged: China's railway project in Myanmar has also been suspended, partly due to the ongoing internal conflict.

Meanwhile, while Cambodia is considered an economic and strategic ally of Beijing (with the presence of a Chinese military base of the People's Liberation Army near Ream), Thailand remains a formal partner of the United States, linked by military agreements and arms supplies, as well as regularly participating in the joint Cobra Gold exercises.

The fear expressed by several observers is that these tensions are being fueled by external powers interested in sabotaging Eurasian integration and containing the expansion of Chinese influence in the ASEAN region.

The logic is the one outlined years ago by the RAND Corporation think tank in the report “Extending Russia” (2019), which recommended generating parallel crises on the borders of strategic rivals to force them to disperse resources and geopolitical attention.

⚙️ Pro-American rulers, manipulated scenarios

In Thailand, the interim government is de facto led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire with strong ties to Washington and the CIA. During his tenure (2001–2006), Thaksin:

• sold off strategic Thai assets to Anglo-American funds (e.g. Temasek, Carlyle),

• authorized CIA rendition programs on Thai soil,

• sent troops to the US coalition in Iraq, violating the country's traditional neutrality.

On the other hand, Hun Manet—son of long-serving Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and educated at the US military academies—has maintained close ties with American democratic circles and think tanks such as NED and Freedom House. Cambodia, despite receiving significant Chinese investment, remains heavily dependent on the US dollar (which circulates as the main currency) and the US market (over 35% of exports).

In 2020, confidential State Department reports revealed plans to strengthen US influence in Cambodia through “development programs,” military training, and parallel economic alliances with China.

See: US Strategy Report on Southeast Asia 2020 (declassified in 2023)

Thailand Surrounded: Artificial Crises on Multiple Fronts

In addition to the conflict with Cambodia, Thailand is now embroiled in a web of simultaneous crises:

• In the West , the civil war in Myanmar: the West openly supports the armed ethnic groups against the military junta in Naypyidaw, with incursions that sometimes cross into Thai territory.

• To the south , the rebellion in the Muslim provinces of Pattani and Yala — fueled by Islamist networks linked to Qatar and Western NGOs.

• Inside , “pro-democracy” student protests funded by USAID and NED, Maidan-style.

Berletic observes: “Whenever Thailand gets closer to Beijing or shows signs of geopolitical independence, these flashpoints reignite.”

Systemic US-China Clash: What's at Stake

Since the military coup in 2014, Thailand has gradually strengthened its cooperation with China:

• Key infrastructure agreements (such as the Bangkok–Kunming high-speed railway),

• Joint military exercises (Joint Strike 2024),

• Orders for Chinese drones, armored vehicles and radar systems.

This opening is viewed with growing hostility by the United States, which considers Thailand a former strategic ally to be “reconquered”.

Meanwhile, Cambodia—though formally friendly to China—has maintained a gray area: its military ports (such as Ream) host Chinese officers, but US funds support hundreds of NGOs and academic institutions.

For more information: CSIS – US–Cambodia Relations

False oppositions and Western narratives

Thailand's domestic front is experiencing a strange dialectic between Thaksin and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, another "liberal" billionaire, also backed by American networks. Seemingly rivals, in reality—observes Berletic—they share roles: the former as a "moderate" strongman, the latter as a "progressive" radical, Obama-Soros style.

Thanathorn proposed abandoning Chinese infrastructure projects to build a US–ASEAN Hyperloop system, which was never built but was intended to undermine ongoing agreements with Beijing.

Colonialism 2.0: Maps, Chaos, and Social Engineering

As in Ukraine, Syria, and Georgia, the Thailand-Cambodia conflict appears to be constructed on the basis of deliberately ambiguous colonial maps. The French, in their Indochina dominion, left numerous borders unresolved to provide the West with tools for post-imperial destabilization.

The result? Wars without cultural or religious roots, but imposed from outside to halt the integration of Eurasia.

Another “useful” war?

Behind the rockets and official pronouncements, the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand appears to be following a tried-and-true pattern: fomenting local divisions to fight a global enemy (China), using armies and "client" governments as cannon fodder. A strategy that has failed elsewhere, but which in Southeast Asia continues to claim civilian victims amid the complicit silence of the UN and the mainstream media.

Update

Thanks to China's mediation, Cambodia and Thailand have reaffirmed their commitment to China's efforts to de-escalate border tensions and respect the ceasefire. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced this at the end of an informal tripartite meeting with Phnom Penh and Bangkok in Shanghai. However, Cambodian forces have again violated the ceasefire (https://t.me/tass_es/34162) in the border area with Thailand, the Thai Foreign Ministry reported. “On the night of July 29, 2025, less than 24 hours after the ceasefire agreement was reached between Thailand and Cambodia, Thai military positions in Phu Makua were attacked by Cambodian troops with live fire and grenades,” he reported.

Bangkok urged Phnom Penh to “immediately cease” the attacks and fully respect previously reached agreements.