Hun Manet, the West Point–educated son of Hun Sen, presides over this system while Beijing keeps it solvent. Chinese money finances the highways, bridges, and the Ream Naval Base, where Chinese vessels now make port calls. The debt load binds Phnom Penh more tightly to Beijing each year. From Ream to Poipet, power runs downhill in a straight line of obligation and profit.
Thailand’s loyalties remain anchored elsewhere. It is a U.S. treaty ally under the 1954 Manila Pact and a Major Non-NATO Ally since 2003. Every year the Cobra Gold exercise brings Thai and American forces together in one of the world’s largest joint drills. Thai pilots fly Western aircraft; their doctrine and logistics trace back to the same manuals used in Virginia and Hawaii. China may dominate trade, but Thailand’s defense posture still points west.
The landmine fits the broader pattern. Thai police and special units have spent the past year dismantling Chinese-linked networks operating along the frontier. Raids in Poipet freed hundreds of trafficked workers; a telecom shutdown in February crippled scam zones that had funneled millions through Cambodian shell companies. Western intelligence supported the operations quietly. Phnom Penh lost face, and the people who profit from chaos took note. When the November blast hit, most in the Thai ranks read it as retaliation.
Trump’s ceasefire lasted four months: an initial truce in July, reinforced at the October ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. Washington now calls for restraint, but everyone here knows the pattern. Thailand stands on this fault line between Washington and Beijing, keeping its balance through patience and strength. The wounded soldier was more than a casualty; he was a reminder that in this region, peace is never given—it is maintained by those willing to hold the line.
The frontier tonight is tense but quiet. Patrols move slowly through the jungle. The temple rises above it, silent and indifferent. From Phuket, it feels distant until you remember how close history always is here, never gone, only sleeping.
If the fighting flares again, I’ll go north. Borders like this have their own gravity. Thailand knows how to live beside that pull: steady, disciplined, and unafraid to defend what’s its own.
Thai Soldier Maimed in Border Blast as Ceasefire with Cambodia Collapses
From Phuket, I watch Thailand sit on the fault line between Washington and Beijing, absorbing every shock with the quiet discipline of a country that learned long ago that peace is something you patrol, not something you are given.
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