Category Archives: Cambodia

Destitute survivors of south-east Asia’s cyberscam farms an ‘international crisis’

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Not enough support for freed victims, say aid agencies, with growing numbers sleeping on the streets, unable to travel home without passports or money

Charities and aid workers have called for urgent international government support for victims of south-east Asia’s deadly scam compounds, following a damning report by Amnesty International.

The numbers of survivors of cyberscam “farms” left destitute and abandoned on the city streets of Cambodia and Myanmar is an “international crisis”, according to the research published in January.

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Trump pressures Thailand to recommit to Cambodia ceasefire with ‘threat of tariffs’

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Bangkok had earlier said it was suspending ceasefire, accusing Cambodia of laying landmines along the border

The US has put pressure on Thailand to recommit to a ceasefire with Cambodia, warning trade talks could be halted as Washington seeks to keep a Donald Trump-brokered truce agreement from falling apart.

Earlier this week, Thailand said that it was suspending the ceasefire deal, accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the border, including one it said wounded a Thai soldier on patrol, who lost a foot in the explosion.

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Fatal clash on Thai-Cambodia border after Trump-brokered peace deal breaks down

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The truce broke down this week after a Thai soldier lost a leg to a landmine blast, prompting Thailand’s PM to say the peace deal was ‘now over’

One person has been killed by gunfire along the Thai-Cambodia border as conflict heats up between the two nations days after a Trump-backed ceasefire agreement has broken down.

Fighting erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops over five days in July, with 43 people killed and 300,000 displaced in the worst fighting along the border in a decade. Donald Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the two nations in Malaysia this October, after the US president previously threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two countries unless they stopped fighting.

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Trump oversees Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire signing as Asia tour gets under way

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Trump has begun a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since taking office in January

Donald Trump has overseen the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia on the first day of an Asia tour where he will seal new trade agreements and hold a crucial meeting with Xi Jinping.

The US president arrived in Malaysia on Sunday before the Asean summit in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. At a ceasefire ceremony in front of a sign that read “Delivering Peace”, the Thai prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, signed an expanded ceasefire deal related to a deadly five-day conflict in July.

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‘Wailing ghosts through loudspeakers’: Cambodia accuses Thailand of psychological warfare along border

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Cambodia’s rights commission said ‘intense, high-pitched noises’ broadcast by Thai soldiers along the disputed border threatened to escalate tensions

Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen has complained about Thailand broadcasting ghost-like sounds across a disputed border, while the country’s human rights commission has accused its neighbour of engaging in psychological warfare, despite both countries agreeing to a ceasefire in July.

Posting on Facebook, Hun Sen, 73, who now serves as Cambodia’s powerful senate president, said Cambodia’s human rights commission had complained to the United Nations about the “intense, high-pitched noises”.

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South Korea bans travel to parts of Cambodia amid deepening scam crisis that has left 80 missing

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An additional 60 South Koreans remain detained by Cambodian authorities after a crackdown on scam operations

South Korea has issued its most serious travel warning for parts of Cambodia, issuing a “code black” ban that orders citizens to leave areas in which the government has identified surging employment scams and detention cases targeting its nationals.

The travel prohibition covers the border towns of Poipet and Bavet, along with the Bokor Mountain region in Kampot province, 140km south-west of Phnom Penh, where a 22-year-old Korean student was allegedly tortured to death in August.

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Student’s alleged torture death by Cambodia scammers sparks turmoil in South Korea

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South Korean president urges ‘all-out’ efforts to protect citizens after number of kidnappings in Cambodia soars in recent months

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has called for “all-out” diplomatic efforts to protect citizens in Cambodia after a university student was lured there by a scam ring and allegedly tortured to death.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lee said “protecting the lives and safety of citizens is the government’s greatest responsibility” and called for all those caught up in the scams to be “swiftly repatriated”.

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Three Thai soldiers injured by landmine on border with Cambodia, army says

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Thai military accuses neighbouring country of planting concealed weapons in violation of international law

Three Thai soldiers were injured on Saturday after one tripped a landmine in territory along its frontier with Cambodia, Thailand’s army has said as it accused the neighbouring country of planting concealed weapons in violation of international law.

The incident, in which a Thai sergeant major suffered severe injuries, came two days after the countries reasserted their commitment to a ceasefire that ended a brief but intense period of fighting. Cambodia denies the accusation.

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Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating fragile ceasefire for a second time

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Cambodia has previously denied breaking the truce, which came into effect on Tuesday after five days of violent clashes

Thailand has accused Cambodia of a “flagrant violation” of a truce to end cross-border fighting, claiming Cambodian troops launched an overnight attack on the frontier.

The neighbours agreed a ceasefire starting Tuesday after five days of clashes killed at least 43 people on both sides, as a longstanding dispute over contested border regions boiled over into open combat across the 800km frontier.

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The bitter feud fuelling the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia

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Animosity between former friends and political patriarchs Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra is exacerbating clashes

The dispute over Thailand and Cambodia’s contested border, which dates back more than a century to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has broken into conflict before. But the most recent clashes, which erupted on Thursday, have been fuelled by another factor: a bitter feud between two powerful political patriarchs.

Hun Sen, 72, and Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, former leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, were once such close friends they reportedly called one another brothers. Hun Sen has, over the years, supported Thaksin’s family during their long-running power struggle with Thailand’s military. Thaksin and his sister Yingluck stayed at Hun Sen’s home after they were ousted from power, while Hun Sen appointed Thaksin an economic adviser to the Cambodian government. Thaksin frequently visited Cambodia, and Hun Sen was the first foreign guest to see the former Thai leader after he returned home after more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.

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Cambodia calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ with Thailand as deadly clashes enter a third day

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Thousands of people have been evacuated from either side of the border, while fighting has left at least 32 people dead

Cambodia wants an “immediate ceasefire” with Thailand, the country’s envoy to the United Nations has said, with Bangkok also signalling an openness to talks after two days of deadly clashes that have left 32 dead and thousands displaced.

“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” said UN ambassador Chhea Keo, after a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand.

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Thailand-Cambodia border dispute: 130,000 Thai civilians evacuated amid second day of clashes

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Thailand PM warns cross-border clashes ‘could develop into war’ as fighting spreads to 12 locations

Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along the Cambodian border, it said on Friday, as the country’s leader warned cross-border clashes could develop into war.

Clashes that began on Thursday resumed early on Friday, the Thai military reported, as the two countries fought in their bloodiest military clashes in over a decade.

Fighting had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, a Thai military official – an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier.

“This present incident of aggression is escalating and could develop to the stage of war,” Thailand’s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters in Bangkok. “However, right now we are still at altercation level, battling with heavy weapons. What we have done so far are to protect our land and sovereignty of our nation.”

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Thailand recalls Cambodia ambassador after landmine injures soldier on border

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Thai foreign ministry says landmines along disputed border newly deployed as it downgrades diplomatic relations

Thailand has recalled its ambassador to Cambodia and will expel Cambodia’s ambassador, the ruling Pheu Thai party said on Wednesday after a landmine incident that injured a Thai soldier along the disputed border between the two countries.

The Thai foreign ministry has lodged a formal protest with Cambodia, saying the landmines found in the area were newly deployed and had not been encountered during previous patrols, the party said on social media.

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The Killing Fields execution site and two former Khmer Rouge prisons added to Unesco heritage list

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The three Cambodian sites’ inscription coincides with the 50th anniversary of the rise to power of the brutal regime

Three locations used by Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime as torture and execution sites 50 years ago have been added by Unesco to its world heritage list.

The three locations were inscribed to the list by the UN cultural agency on Friday during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris.

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Thailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended over leaked Hun Sen call

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Paetongtarn could be heard calling former Cambodian leader ‘uncle’ and criticising Thai commander in recording

Thailand’s constitutional court has suspended the prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, while it investigates alleged ethical violations relating to a leaked phone call.

The court announced on Tuesday that it would consider a petition filed by 36 senators calling for Paetongtarn’s dismissal, accusing her of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution.

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Protesters in Bangkok demand resignation of prime minister over leaked phone call

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra has angered Thai nationalists, who accuse the Thai leader of kowtowing to Cambodia

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister over a leaked phone call with a former Cambodian leader.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra has faced growing pressure over her handling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia that flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of fire.

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Thai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple government

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In phone call, Paetongtarn Shinawatra discusses border dispute with former Cambodian leader and calls him ‘uncle’

Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised after a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen prompted public anger and threatened the collapse of her government.

In the leaked call, Paetongtarn – daughter of the populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – discusses an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who is known to be a friend of her family.

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Cambodia bans fruit imports and soap operas from Thailand as border dispute sours

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The border dispute has led to a surge in nationalist sentiment and tit-for-tat actions by both governments

Cambodia has banned imports of fruit and vegetables from Thailand, the latest escalation in a series of retaliatory actions sparked by a long-running border dispute between the South-east Asian neighbours.

Tensions flared in May when troops briefly exchanged fire at a contested area of the border, killing a Cambodian soldier.

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‘No winners’ in a trade war, says China’s Xi as he heads to Vietnam on charm offensive

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Xi Jinping expected to present China as reliable partner in contrast to US, which imposed – then suspended – tariffs over 40% on some countries

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, warned there would be “no winners” in a trade war and that protectionism “leads nowhere”, as he began a three-nation trip to south-east Asia, starting in Vietnam on Monday.

Xi’s tour, which started in Hanoi, also includes rare visits to Malaysia and Cambodia and will seek to strengthen ties with China’s closest neighbours amid a trade war that has sent shock waves through global markets.

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Xi Jinping seeks to strengthen economic ties during tour of south-east Asia

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President’s first stop is Vietnam as China urges US to end trade war and return to ‘right path of mutual respect’

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will visit Vietnam on Monday as he begins a tour of south-east Asia where he will seek to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries amid an escalating trade war.

Xi will visit Vietnam from Monday before travelling to Malaysia and Cambodia, a high-profile tour that Chinese officials have described as being of “major importance”.

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