- Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have increased following the death of a Cambodian soldier in May during a gunfire exchange in a disputed border area.
- The two Southeast Asian neighbours have contested sovereignty over undemarcated points along their 817km land border for over a century, with the border initially mapped by France in 1907.
- Claims over historical sites, particularly the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, have raised nationalist tensions, with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarding the temple to Cambodia in 1962, though Thailand continues to claim the surrounding land.
- Nationalist sentiment has risen in Thailand, especially after conservatives questioned the government's plan to jointly explore energy resources with Cambodia and after a group of Cambodians sang their national anthem at the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple.
- Despite promises to ease tensions and seek dialogue, both countries' militaries have been mobilising near the border, and Cambodia plans to refer disputes in four border areas to the ICJ, a move Thailand has not recognised.
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