Description: Thai government officials announced the country’s decision to block several ground crossings on the border with Cambodia, following simmering tensions instigated by the murder of a Cambodian soldier in May by Thai border forces. The closure of the crossings would be in effect immediately as all individuals would be prohibited to cross to Cambodia as a restrictive measure against Cambodia’s imposition on trade imports from Thailand. The implemented border measures would also impact scam centers in Cambodia which have had negative effects on the Thai economy. Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra is also facing domestic political backlash over her distasteful comments regarding the influential Thai military commander in a call with Cambodia’s President of the Senate, Hun Sen. Earlier this week, Shinawatra’s coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai Party left the ruling coalition and pledged to call a vote of no confidence on 03 Jul, attempting to remove the incumbent Prime Minister. Shinawatra also faces an initiative drawn up by a group of Thai senators who have called for conducting an investigation led by the Constitutional Court regarding the Prime Minister’s behavior.
Impact: The bilateral border dispute coupled with the low – scale political crisis in Thailand could lead to considerable regional destabilization and expansion of the crisis in Myanmar caused by the civil war. Prime Minister Shinawatra is under severe scrutiny over her comments regarding the Thai military and faces oppositional political upheaval and a constitutional investigation into her behavior which could prompt her removal from Thai’s prime ministry. The countries are equivalently escalating the border dispute, imposing measures and counter measures which influence the rise in political and military tensions. Since the beginning of the dispute in May, military and border officials have repeatedly met and discussed means to deescalate the dispute with no concrete results. Tensions are expected to be on the rise in the short to mid – term with the unraveling of the political crisis in Thailand considerably impacting the eventual outcome of the border dispute.