BANGKOK -- Armed clashes have broken out between Thailand and Cambodia in long-disputed border areas, rapidly escalating months-long tensions.

The deadly conflict on the Thai-Cambodian border pits a longtime United States ally with decades of experience against a relatively young armed force with close ties to China.

The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia

The fighting began on Thursday morning close to the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, beside the border between Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.View on euronews

"The U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," a former senior U.S. State Department official told Newsweek.

Of course, trouble at the 508-mile (817 km) shared border is nothing new. For over a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points in the thick jungle punctuated with culturally-significant temples albeit with scant strategic or economic value.

Does a viral clip show a fighter jet shooting down another one during July 2025 clashes between Thailand and Cambodia? No, that's not true: The video predates the violence that broke out in that region in late July of

Britain's foreign ministry on Thursday has advised against all but essential travel to parts of Cambodia and Thailand following the worst fighting between the countries in 13 years. Thailand scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia on Thursday after artillery volleys from both sides killed at least 11 civilians,