Believing that Cambodia has not been adequately punished, and notwithstanding the fragile truce, some Thais are calling for more punitive actions against not just the Cambodian government but also innocent Cambodians in Thailand, including migrant workers and even schoolchildren.
This reflects not just growing hatred against Cambodians among ultra-nationalist Thais but also a myopic view that, in the medium and long term, does not even serve Thailand’s own national interests. (We will not discuss the far right who are still dreaming of Thailand attacking Phnom Penh here, as the repercussions would be too obvious.)
Earlier this week, a group of senators called on the Thai government to cut funding for Cambodian schoolchildren in Thailand. These senators’ demand is not just inhumane and short-sighted but in effect expands the scope of Thai-Cambodian conflicts to arenas that should have been kept separate from the conflict. These kids are innocent; they have nothing to do with the ruling Hun family in Cambodia, or the Cambodian military forces which attacked and killed thirty Thais, including civilians. Children, no matter their nationality, deserve to be protected.
The senators’ myopic demands are in fact undermining Thailand’s soft power and national interests. Instead of caring for and nurturing these Cambodian children in Thailand so they would grow up having a positive attitude towards Thailand, these senators, knowingly or not, want to ostracise them, deny them basic rights to education, and essentially turn them into adults who hold bitter memories and feelings towards Thailand. How does having more foreigners who hate Thailand serve Thai national interests?
On another related issue, acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai came under fire when he announced on August 13, 2025, that the government had resolved to extend the visa for migrant workers in Cambodia by six months. This led to an uproar among ultra-nationalist Thais and the conservative Thai press. Some of them not only asked why the government was “rewarding” these Cambodian workers despite the conflict but also accused Phumtham of being a traitor.
Blinded by ultra-nationalism, some Thais and media professionals can no longer recognise that the move also benefits the Thai economy. There are about 500,000 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand, and if more have to leave Thailand due to the conflict (and tens of thousands already had), it will disrupt the Thai economy itself, as it will take time to find replacements and train them.
Also, most importantly, they are innocent. They should not be punished for the deeds committed by Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen and his son, Cambodian PM Hun Manet.
There are some Thais who want all Thais to hate all Cambodians, however.
This week, one of this writer’s Thai Facebook friends (whom I have never met in real life) was very upset after I made a post on Facebook citing that I have Cambodian Facebook friends (whom I also have never met in real life) and that one of my Cambodian Facebook friends said Cambodians along the Thai-Cambodian border were fearful of another Thai military attack on Wednesday night due to widespread rumours.
Apparently, these people want all Thais to be the enemy of all Cambodians. I say no. I say build bridges, not walls.
This is what he wrote in Thai – translated into English.
”Oh, so he has a Cambodian friend. I knew it, his posts have always seemed a bit off. I’ve been following him for years, and it turns out he’s a Thai person with a Khmer heart.”
This man’s world is far away from those facing the consequences of the senseless war and continued conflict.
On Thursday, this writer spoke to a housekeeper working as a cleaner at an upper-middle class condominium in Bangkok. She was originally from Buriram province, which is next to the Cambodian border.
She spoke about how her family and others who are from Baan Kruat district, less than an hour’s drive from the Thai-Cambodian border, are now returning home after the fragile ceasefire agreement was signed but have decided to invest in their own concrete shelters, just in case. She showed me photos of a bomb shelter she and many others are building at home.
They’re buying the materials themselves: large concrete pipes that people can fit inside while squatting. The three concrete pipes cost 4,200 baht. The three truckloads of dirt needed to cover them for blast protection will be another 1,200 baht.
Noi (a pseudonym of the cleaner), who is in her early thirties, told me she believes there’s a significant chance of another military conflict, especially after the latest incident where a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine earlier this week and lost his ankle.
Noi also mentioned that everyone in her area is doing the same thing and paying for it themselves. The government reportedly promised 3,000 baht per family, but it’s unclear when they’ll receive it.
Meanwhile, the so-called keyboard warriors in air-conditioned rooms in Bangkok want another round of military attacks.
P.S. Noi added that Cambodians across the border used to come and offer to harvest rice to earn a living, but she doesn’t know what it will be like in the future with the border now shut. Also, she had never visited the disputed Ta Muen Thom Temple complex in her life, although it’s not far from her home, despite the temple being among the four fiercely contested spots between Thailand and Cambodia and visited by many ultra-nationalist Thais and Cambodians before the five-day war.
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