Despite last month’s “peace accord,” it is only a matter of time before the dispute flares into conflict once more.

On October 26, Cambodia and Thailand signed a “peace accord” on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, formally pledging to de-escalate the situation along their shared border, after a military confrontation in July that left at least 42 people dead and displaced more than 300,000. However, the fundamental points of contention have not been resolved, as demonstrated by the differing interpretations of the joint declaration issued at the Joint Border Committee meeting in Chanthaburi, which preceded the deal in Malaysia. Therefore, the decades-old dispute over the exact border demarcation has only been sedated, and there are indications that it is only a matter of time before it flares up again – even if the last period of calm lasted 14 years.

Read the full analysis on https://thediplomat.com/2025/11/the-cambodia-thailand-border-dispute-remains-unresolved/