New war footing on Thai-Cambodian border

Since early January, Royal Thai Army (RTA) planners have prepared new plans to defend Thailand against potential attacks from Cambodia, a move that threatens to rekindle tensions along the two countries' contested border. The plan, drawn up by the RTA's 2nd Army Region and formally approved in April, represents a significant departure from previous Thai strategic footings vis-a-vis Cambodia and involves the immediate commitment of large regular army combat units along the border.

The new plan is highly unusual for the RTA and could be perceived as provocative given the lack of any immediate and realistic military threat from Cambodia. It would also seem to contradict the policy of the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, which has worked to ease tensions with Cambodia over a disputed land claim at the Preah Vihear temple that spiked during the previous Abhisit Vejjajiva-led government.

The last time that Thailand faced a threat of conventional invasion was in early 1979, when units of the Vietnamese army arrived on the Thai border after overthrowing Cambodia's Khmer Rouge government. There was an initial brief period of panic that the battle-hardened Vietnamese might continue into Thailand. Those concerns faded, however, when it became apparent that Vietnam was bogged down in Cambodia and China offered support in the event that the Vietnamese crossed into Thai territory.

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