Why Thailand and Cambodia are fighting again

Long simmering tensions between Cambodia and Thailand erupted into open conflict on Thursday, July 24, 2025, as Thailand launched F 16 airstrikes at C...

Long-simmering tensions between Cambodia and Thailand erupted into open conflict on Thursday, July 24, 2025, as Thailand launched F-16 airstrikes at Cambodian targets along their disputed border, while Cambodia fired heavy artillery rounds. 

The rift goes back more than a century. Here’s the history behind it.Why is there a Cambodia-Thailand conflict in the first place?

Relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors have been contentious since 1907, when the French colony of Cambodia and the independent Kingdom of Siam (as Thailand was known until 1939) signed a treaty delineating the 500-mile border between them.

The problem: The treaty’s map differed from its text - most notably, it left Preah Vihear, an 11th century temple of deep significance to both countries, in French territory.