The Inquiry25 Heinä 2025

How has one leaked phone call shaken Thai politics?

What lies behind the clashes on the Thai Cambodian border is a fractured friendship between the two nations.

In July both countries strike each other with civilians killed and injured in the crossfire. More than a hundred thousand are evacuated.

Thailand warns the clashes could escalate to war. In May a brief gunfire exchange killed a Cambodian soldier. Just over two weeks later surprising details from a recorded private phone conversation went public.

On that 17-minute call to Cambodia was Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. It was supposed to defuse the situation - instead it has erupted.

Away from the border, there’s been public outrage in Thailand, a major prime ministerial setback, fractured friendships, diplomatic ties downgraded and even more political pressure on a far from robust government.

Contributors: · Dr Petra Alderman, Centre manager at the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Professor and senior fellow of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University Dr Vu Lam, Lecturer at the University of New South Wales Dr Pavida Pananond, Professor of International Business and Strategy at Thammasat University’s Business School based in Bangkok

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Daniel Rosney Researched by Evie Yabsley Technical producer Criag Boardman Production Management Assistant Liam Morrey Editor Tara McDermott

Image credit: Lillian Suwanrumpha via Getty Images

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