A Cambodian analyst says Phnom Penh may choose to refrain from launching military retaliation against Thailand, but should not remain silent on the international stage. He argues that Cambodia cannot afford to ignore legal mechanisms while Thai forces continue cross-border attacks.

Civil society observers are calling on all political leaders to submit formal letters to major embassies in Phnom Penh, urging foreign governments to pressure Thailand to halt what they describe as ongoing aggression.

Sek Socheat, a development and research adviser, told The Cambodia Daily that Cambodia should begin compiling documents and evidence for a potential case at the International Court of Justice. He said Thailand has violated Cambodian sovereignty and endangered civilians without regard for international law or universal human rights principles.

He also urged Cambodians overseas to stage demonstrations outside the parliaments of the countries where they live, to draw attention to Thai military actions that have killed civilians in recent days.

At home, he called on young Cambodians to prepare to support national defence efforts as the country faces what he described as a dangerous moment.

Sek Socheat appealed for political leaders to show unity and support their fellow Cambodians instead of exercising patience toward foreign aggression. He added that the government should consider releasing detained youth activists as a gesture of national solidarity during the crisis.

His comments come as Cambodia and Thailand face renewed border fighting. Cambodia has not yet taken any formal legal action against Thailand at the international level.

Major international news organisations, including CNA, CNN, BBC, AP, Reuters, CGTN, Al Jazeera, Nikkei Asia, DW, and France 24, have reported on Thailand’s airstrikes using F-16 fighter jets inside Cambodian territory. Several outlets have described the attacks as a sign of the breakdown of the US brokered peace plan agreed in late October.

In Australia, three non-governmental organisations, including the Khmer Democracy Organization, the Cambodian Action Group, and the 23 October Association, issued a joint appeal on December 9. They called on the international community to condemn Thailand’s actions, which they say threaten the lives of Cambodian civilians and undermine regional stability.

The groups said Thailand’s use of force against Cambodia is unjustifiable and poses an immediate threat to civilian safety and peace in the region.

On December 9, ruling party leader Hun Sen ordered Cambodian forces to strike back against Thai troops at every point where Thailand had advanced. He said Cambodia had already waited more than twenty-four hours with respect to the ceasefire and to allow evacuations before responding.

Hun Sen said Cambodian forces launched counterattacks on the evening of December 8 and continued through Monday night and into Tuesday morning, insisting the country must exercise its right to defend its territory.

The United States has expressed concern about a new wave of armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand along several points of their shared border.

In a statement posted today on its official Facebook page, the US Embassy in Phnom Penh said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday urged an immediate halt to the fighting following fresh confrontations that have again claimed civilian lives.

Rubio said Washington is troubled by the repeated outbreaks of violence on the frontier. He called for an immediate end to hostilities to protect civilians and return to the de-escalation steps outlined in the Kuala Lumpur peace agreement.

The Secretary of State also pressed both Cambodia and Thailand to respect the ceasefire terms they accepted in late October. That agreement was witnessed by US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The renewed conflict has entered its third day, with fighting intensifying across multiple border areas.

On December 9, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters outside Government House that the conflict can no longer be stopped and that his civilian government fully backs Thai military operations. He said the objective is to weaken Cambodia completely and exhaust its ability to fight.

Anutin said he has already given the military full clearance to carry out a jointly planned operation designed to improve the effectiveness of the Thai campaign.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence reported today that Thai forces launched eleven attacks between 5.20 a.m. and 2.22 p.m. on December 10. The ministry said the assaults involved heavy artillery, drone-dropped explosives, and F-16 fighter jets.

On December 9 alone, Thai troops fired two heavy munitions into Slar Kram commune in Banteay Meanchey province at 2.40 a.m. Later that morning and into the night, Thai forces shelled Chouk Chey village, sent drones into Cambodian territory in Pursat and Battambang provinces, and fired 60 millimetre mortars into Sampov Loun district.

The ministry said Thai forces carried out fifteen attacks on December 8 and three attacks on December 7, the first day of the latest escalation.

Over the past three days, nine Cambodian civilians have been killed and twenty others injured. The casualties include three deaths and eight injuries in Oddar Meanchey, one death and two injuries in Preah Vihear, and three deaths and ten injuries in Banteay Meanchey.

More than thirty thousand families have now fled their homes. Authorities estimate the total number of people affected at more than one hundred thousand across six provinces, including nearly ten thousand families in Oddar Meanchey and over six thousand in Preah Vihear.

Banteay Meanchey has recorded more than ten thousand displaced families, while smaller numbers have fled in Pursat, Battambang, and Siem Reap.

Cambodia’s embattled opposition leader Kem Sokha is set to appear before the Phnom Penh Appeal Court on December 18 as his long-running treason case moves forward after years of delay.

A summons issued on November 27 and made public today orders the former Cambodia National Rescue Party president to attend a closed hearing at 8:30 in the morning. The session concerns allegations of secret cooperation with foreign actors, accusations that stretch back to activities between 1993 and September 3, 2017. The charge is punishable under Article 443 of the Criminal Code.

The appeal hearing was scheduled after Kem Sokha’s legal team submitted a formal request earlier in November asking the court to resume the stalled proceedings. Lawyers Pheng Heng and Ang Utdom said the court has delayed the case repeatedly, including since September 19, 2024, leaving the appeal unresolved for more than two years.

The lawyers argue that the prolonged process violates their client’s right to a timely trial. They note that from the initial postponement through today, the case has dragged on for more than eight years at both the trial and appeal stages. They contend that this contradicts the judiciary’s stated commitment to speeding up congested case backlogs.

Pheng Heng said the December 18 hearing will resume at 8:30 in the morning and may mark the final step in the legal proceedings that have stretched on for nearly a decade.

Former opposition cabinet chief Mut Chantha wrote on Facebook on November 30 that he hopes the court will not delay the case again. He said the prolonged process has placed severe emotional strain on Kem Sokha.

On March 3, 2023, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Kem Sokha of treason, sentencing him to 27 years in prison and banning him from political activity for life.

A leading Cambodian human rights organisation is urging the courts to release activist Koet Saray, who has now spent more than 600 days in prison while waiting for his appeal to be heard.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights said on its Facebook page that Koet Saray remains behind bars even though the Phnom Penh Appeal Court has yet to set a date to review his case. He was convicted of incitement and failing to comply with a court order after a previous conviction.

According to the organisation, the charges stem from comments he made in 2024 about an ongoing land dispute in Preah Vihear province. He was arrested on April 5, 2024, accused of leading students to monitor the situation of villagers who were fleeing attempts by authorities to detain them.

Later that year, on November 6, 2024, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced the head of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association to four years in prison on the same charges.

This is not the first time Koet Saray has been imprisoned. In 2020, he was arrested after calling for the release of union leader Rong Chhun. He was sentenced to 20 months but was released early after the remaining portion of his sentence was suspended.

His case has drawn renewed attention after the World Justice Project released its global Rule of Law Index on October 25, 2025. The report ranked Cambodia 141st out of 143 countries.

The organisation said the ranking reflects deep concerns about the concentration of power among political leaders, a lack of constitutional safeguards, weak law enforcement, and restrictions on civil liberties, including press freedom.

A senior Cambodian scholar says Thailand’s political tradition has long relied on keeping every option open to benefit from whichever major power can offer the greatest advantage at any moment.

Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, wrote on Facebook that Thai politics often resembles a scripted performance. He said some actors play the hero, others the villain, and some pretend to be foolish, but all roles ultimately serve the same flexible strategy.

According to Kin Phea, the Thai governments cultivate close ties with a powerful state while quietly supporting opposition groups that can later be used to undermine that same power if circumstances shift. He argues that when the influence of a major partner fades, Thailand quickly allows the opposition to attack and topple the old leadership, clearing the way for a new administration that resets ties with a different global power.

He said this approach has helped Thailand expand its territory historically, strengthen its economy, develop its military, and maintain what he described as a balanced foreign policy.

Thai newspaper Khaosod published an editorial on November 16 saying the country’s current political trajectory faces new risks. The article criticised Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, accusing him of endangering Thailand’s interests by aligning too closely with the United States and mishandling delicate regional diplomacy.

The editorial claimed the danger intensified after Anutin abruptly withdrew from the recent peace agreement with Cambodia on November 12 without notifying Washington. The agreement had been initiated directly by United States President Donald Trump. It also noted that Anutin had threatened to abandon American preferential tariffs and seek alternative trade partners for Thai exports.

On November 13, The Nation reported that Anutin accompanied King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida on an official visit to China, scheduled from November 13 to 17.

During the visit, China’s state news agency Xinhua said President Xi Jinping told the Thai monarch that China and Thailand are as close as one family and will work together to write a new chapter in bilateral friendship.

The Cambodian Human Rights Committee says Thailand risks being viewed as a lawless state if it fails to deliver justice in the alleged rape of an eighteen-year-old Cambodian migrant worker and other abuses committed during recent border tensions.

In a statement issued today, the committee condemned what it described as a brutal assault by seven Thai soldiers in black uniforms who allegedly detained and gang raped the young woman as she returned to Cambodia with a group of male workers. The committee says sexual violence is among the most serious violations of human rights and must be punished without exception.

The statement also accuses Thai troops of committing other abuses during past border conflicts, including seizing Cambodian homes and farmland, using loudspeakers to intimidate civilians, and causing physical and psychological harm to women, children, people with disabilities, and the sick.

The committee urged Thai authorities to immediately bring the alleged perpetrators to justice and provide compensation and support to the victim.

On November 16, the Ministry of Interior said the attack took place late Sunday night as the workers crossed back into Cambodia. According to the ministry, the soldiers separated the group into men and women, leaving the victim alone as the only female migrant in the group.

Interior Minister Sar Sokha said on Monday that the National Police is working with relevant agencies to document the incident and raise the case at the international level. He described the attack as a grave act of violence committed against a Cambodian national.

However, the Thai newspaper Khaosod quoted military sources today rejecting the accusations. The report said Thai forces denied beating the workers, stealing belongings, or assaulting the victim, calling the claims fabricated by Cambodian authorities.

Despite this denial, several Cambodian ministries, including the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, issued strong statements condemning what they described as an inhumane act. They said the assault showed a disregard for human dignity and called on Thailand to take responsibility for the actions of its soldiers.