Thai-Cambodian conflict pits a well-equipped US ally against a weaker adversary with strong China links
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Thai-Cambodian conflict pits a well-equipped US ally against a weaker adversary with strong China links
Thailand’s military dwarfs that of neighboring Cambodia, both in personnel and weaponry. Thailand has four times as many people as Cambodia, and a GDP more than 10 times larger. The country has for years been dominated by a conservative establishment comprising the military, the monarchy and influential elites. Thailand is a United States treaty ally, a status dating back to the signing of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, also known as the Manila Pact, in 1954. The Thai military maintains a more neutral approach to military policy, increasing ties with China in the past decade.. Despite a traditional reliance on Russia, Thailand has emerged as a key international defense ally with China and Vietnam, according to the IISS “Military Balance 2025” report. The United States and Thailand co-host the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, which began in 1982 as joint drills with the US but has since added dozens of other participants. The U.S. State Department says more than 900 US aircraft and 40 Navy ships visit Thailand yearly.
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.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh are fighting over territory disputed since colonial power France drew the border between them more than a century ago.
Clashes continued into Saturday, according to officials on both sides. More than a dozen people have been reported killed, dozens wounded, and more than 150,000 civilians evacuated since fighting began on Thursday.
Here’s a look at the histories and capabilities of the two sides.
Numbers favor Thailand
Thailand’s military dwarfs that of neighboring Cambodia, both in personnel and weaponry.
Thailand’s total of 361,000 active-duty personnel spread across all branches of the kingdom’s military is three times Cambodia’s. And those troops have at their disposal weaponry their Cambodian counterparts could only dream of.
“Thailand has a large, well-funded military and its air force is one of the best equipped and trained in Southeast Asia,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) wrote in its “Military Balance 2025” look at the world’s armed forces.
Meanwhile, a 2024 ranking of the military capabilities of 27 regional nations by the Lowy Institute places Thailand at 14th, to Cambodia’s 23rd.
US Air Force personnel walk past planes on display at Thailand’s 88th Royal Air Force Anniversary Air Show on March 7, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
Such a disparity is perhaps to be expected, given Thailand has four times as many people as Cambodia, and a GDP more than 10 times larger. Unlike Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, it escaped the ravages of the wars that engulfed the region in the second half of the 20th century, and the European colonialism that preceded them.
Overall, with factors including military, economic, diplomatic and cultural power weighed in the Lowy Asia Power Index, Thailand is ranked 10th, considered a middle power, just behind Indonesia but ahead of countries including Malaysia and Vietnam.
Lowy ranks Cambodia as a minor power in Asia, grouped with countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Laos.
Thailand has strong US ties, global outlook
Thailand’s military has long been a major player in the kingdom’s politics. The country has for years been dominated by a conservative establishment comprising the military, the monarchy and influential elites.
Generals have seized power in 20 coups since 1932, often toppling democratic governments, according to the CIA World Factbook, and the military portrays itself as the ultimate defender of the monarchy.
Thailand is a United States treaty ally, a status dating back to the signing of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, also known as the Manila Pact, in 1954, according to the US State Department.
During the Vietnam War, Thailand hosted US Air Force assets at some air bases, including B-52 bombers, and tens of thousands Thai troops fought on the side of the US-backed South Vietnam against the communist North.
US B-52 bombers operated from air bases in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Pictures from History/Universal Images Group Editorial/Getty Images
Strong ties between Washington and Bangkok have endured. Thailand is classed as a major non-NATO ally by the US, giving it special benefits that have enabled it to enjoy access to decades of US support for its weapons programs.
Thailand and the US Indo-Pacific Command co-host the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, which began in 1982 as joint drills with the US but has since added dozens of other participants. It’s the longest-running international military exercise in the world, according to the US military.
Besides Cobra Gold, Thai and US forces hold more than 60 exercises together, and more than 900 US aircraft and 40 Navy ships visit Thailand yearly, the US State Department says.
Despite all that history with Washington, these days the Thai military tries to maintain a more neutral approach to military policy, increasing ties with China in the past decade.
Not wanting to rely on any one country as its arms supplier, it has also developed a strong domestic weapons industry, with the help of countries such as Israel, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Sweden, the “Military Balance” report says.
Cambodia’s Chinese support
Cambodia’s military is young in comparison to Thailand’s, established in 1993 after forces of the communist government were merged with two non-communist resistance armies, according to the IISS.
“Cambodia’s most important international defense links are with China and Vietnam. Despite a traditional reliance on Russia for defense equipment, China has emerged as a key supplier,” the IISS says.
Beijing has even developed a naval base in Cambodia. The Ream Naval Base, on the Gulf of Thailand, would be able to host Chinese aircraft carriers, according to international analysts.
Cambodia and China completed the seventh edition of their annual Golden Dragon joint military exercise in May, which was touted as the largest ever and featured live-fire training scenarios.
Chinese military personnel take part in the Golden Dragon joint military exercise with Cambodia in Svay Chok in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia, on May 30, 2024. Kyodo News/Getty Images
It’s a relationship that’s expected to reach “a new level and achieve new development” this year, according to a February report on the People’s Liberation Army’s English-language website.
“China and Cambodia are iron-clad friends who… always support each other. The two militaries enjoy unbreakable relations and rock-solid brotherhood,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Col. Wu Qian told a press conference in February, when asked about possible fissures in relations.
Cambodia’s military needs the support.
“Cambodia currently lacks the ability to design and manufacture modern equipment for its armed forces,” the IISS report says.
Weapons on each side
Bolstered by years of US support, the Royal Thai Air Force is well equipped, with at least 11 modern Swedish Gripen fighter jets and dozens of older, US-made F-16 and F-5 jets, according to the IISS. Cambodia has no combat-capable air force to speak of.
On the ground, Thailand has dozens of battle tanks, including 60 modern, Chinese-made VT-4 tanks, and hundreds of older, US-made tanks. Cambodia has about 200 old Chinese- and Soviet-made tanks, the “Military Balance” shows.
A Thai amphibious assault vehicle seen during an assault exercise as part of the Cobra Gold 2025 joint military exercise at the military base in Sattahip, Chonburi province, Thailand, on March 3, 2025. Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
The Thai army boasts more than 600 artillery pieces, including at least 56 powerful 155mm weapons and more than 550 105mm towed guns. Cambodia has only a dozen 155mm guns with around 400 smaller towed artillery pieces, according to IISS figures.
In the air, the army has US-made Cobra attack helicopters as well as 18 US Black Hawk transports. Cambodia has only a few dozen older Soviet and Chinese transport helicopters.
What comes next
Hawaii-based military analyst Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said that while Thailand has the numerical and qualitative military advantage, Cambodia has at least one thing in its favor – the actual land along the disputed border.
“Terrain favors access from Cambodian territory to the disputed area,” Schuster told CNN.
And with Cambodian forces allegedly laying landmines and booby traps in the disputed area, Thailand can be expected to rely on longer-range weaponry, he said.
“The Royal Thai Air Force is superior and their special forces are superior,” Schuster said. “I think the Thais will prefer to emphasize air power and long-range firepower in the conflict.”
Rebels in Colombia attack a military patrol with a drone, killing 3 soldiers
Rebel groups in Colombia are increasingly using drones to attack the military. They mostly use commercial photography drones with explosives strapped to them, flying them straight into their targets. Colombia’s Defense Ministry says that rebel groups launched 115 drone attacks last year. Sunday’s drone attack is the one of the deadliest on record.
The army blamed the attack on the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a group of approximately six thousand fighters that has been fighting the Colombian government since the 1960s. The attack took place Sunday outside the town of El Carmen in the Catatumbo region, the military said in a statement.
Rebel groups in Colombia are increasingly using drones to attack the military and to attack each other as they fight for control of rural areas. They mostly use commercial photography drones with explosives strapped to them, flying them straight into their targets.
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Colombia’s Defense Ministry says that rebel groups launched 115 drone attacks last year. Sunday’s drone attack is the one of the deadliest on record.
Colombia’s government has struggled to contain violence in rural areas that were formerly under the control of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the guerrilla group that made peace with the government in 2016.
Several smaller rebel groups and drug gangs are now fighting over the control of areas abandoned by the FARC, where illicit activities like drug trafficking and illegal mining are common.
In January, Colombia’s government suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, following a spate of attacks in the Catatumbo region, in which at least 80 people were killed and 50,000 were forced to flee their homes.
Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities
This is a look at a group of researchers looking for clues on what is going on in the minds of the world’s most famous people. This is a study of the people and places that make up the world’s most famous and famous people, and the people who make up their memories. This study is looking at the people, places, and places in the world that are famous and unknown to the world at the moment. It is also looking for the people behind the people that make the world famous and the places that are known to be famous or unknown. It will also be looking for people who have never been to the U.S. or the world of the rich and famous, but want to be a part of it. This will provide a glimpse of what the world is like in the next generation of people. It also provides a glimpse into the future of the art form of photography, which is becoming more popular in the 21st century. It can also provide a look into the culture and culture of the modern world.
Though the Islamic Republic has entered into direct conflict with a foreign adversary before, it has never done so while so militarily weakened, internally fractured and increasingly alienated from its own population.
And unlike the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, when national unity coalesced around the defense of Iranian sovereignty, this time the government appeared to fight without significant public support. While accurate polling from within Iran is hard to come by, the lack of pro-government rallies, the low approval numbers for the government ahead of the war and the government’s subsequent crackdown since tell their own stories.
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As a researcher of different ethnic groups within the country, I know that many Iranians – especially those from historically marginalized communities – viewed the conflict with Israel not as a defense of the nation but as a reckless consequence of the government’s ideological adventurism and regional proxy campaigns. It puts the Islamic Republic in its most vulnerable position since its establishment after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Hard and soft power diminished
It is worth taking a snapshot of just how diminished the Iranian government is following the recent series of blows.
Its soft power – once built on revolutionary legitimacy, Shiite ideological influence and anti-Western propaganda – has eroded dramatically.
For decades, the Islamic Republic relied on a powerful narrative: that it was the only government bold enough to confront the United States and Israel, defend Muslim causes globally and serve as the spiritual leader of the Islamic world. This image, projected through state media, proxy militias and religious rhetoric, helped the government justify its foreign interventions and massive military spending, particularly on nuclear development and regional militias.
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But that narrative no longer resonates the way it once did. The leaders of Iran can no longer claim to inspire unity at home or fear abroad. Even among Shiite populations in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, support during the Israel-Iran confrontation was muted. Inside Iran, meanwhile, propaganda portraying Israel as the existential enemy has lost its grip, especially among the youth, who increasingly identify with human rights movements rather than government slogans.
It is also clear that Iran’s hard power is getting weaker. The loss of senior commanders and the destruction of important military infrastructure have shown that the government’s intelligence and security systems are severely compromised.
Even before Israel’s attack, a number of reports showed that Iran’s military was in its weakest state in decades. The real surprise in the recent war came not from the scale of the damage by Israeli and U.S. bombs but from how deeply Israel had penetrated the upper echelons of the Iranian military and intelligence sectors. The recent conflict amounted to a security as well as a military failure.
Externally defeated, internally adrift
As its power across the region appears diminished, so too is the Iranian government’s grip loosening internally. A 2024 survey by Iran’s Ministry of Culture revealed “discontent” among the population, with over 90% of Iranians “dissatisfied” with the country’s current position. Elections in November 2024 saw a turnout of under 40%, further underscoring Iranians’ discontent with the political process.
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And reporting from inside Iran suggests many Iranians blame government policies for the war with Israel. “I place the blame on this country’s decision-makers,” one resident of Rasht told Reuters, “their policies have brought war and destruction upon us.”
The government has responded with a tactic it has used before: repression. According to government-aligned media, over 700 people were arrested during and immediately after the conflict, accused of collaborating with the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
As in past crackdowns, ethnic minority regions – particularly Kurdish areas – have been targeted.
One day after the ceasefire with Israel, the government executed three Kurdish cross-border laborers who rely on smuggling goods to survive in Iran’s underdeveloped Kurdish provinces.
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These executions, which were done without a trial or legal counsel, fit a pattern of how the government uses ethnic scapegoating to stay in power. And it echoes a historic pattern: When the government feels threatened, it strikes the Kurds first.
A historical pattern of repression
Kurds are estimated to number 10-12 million in Iran, composing roughly 12% to 15% of the country’s total population – making them the third-largest ethnic group after Persians and Azeris. Iran also includes significant Baluch and Arab minorities.
When the Islamic Republic was established in 1979, many ethnic groups supported the revolution. They hoped for a more inclusive and democratic Iran than what preceded it – the brutal autocracy of the shah that had frequently targeted minorities.
Those hopes were quickly dashed. By rejecting pluralism and promoting a unifying ideology centered on Shiite Islam and Persian identity, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini marginalized non-Persian and non-Shiite groups.
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Other ethnic groups were viewed with suspicion, while Shiite Azerbaijanis were mainly co-opted into the system.
Khomeini declared jihad against Kurdish resistance groups, labeling them infidels, separatists and agents of Israel and the United States.
Armed with advanced weaponry inherited from the last Pahlavi shah, the government launched a military campaign in Kurdistan province. Many Kurdish villages and towns were destroyed, and approximately 50,000 Iranian Kurds were killed between 1979 and 1988.
The region was turned into a militarized zone – a status that continues today.
Campaign against Kurds
After the Iran-Iraq war ended in August 1988, the government – economically strained and militarily weakened – feared a domestic uprising.
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But instead of embracing political reform, it responded with one of the most brutal crackdowns in Iran’s history. Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, ordering the execution of political prisoners, including large numbers of Kurdish dissidents.
Between late July and September 1988, thousands of political prisoners were executed – many without trial or any legal process. At least 5,000 people were killed and buried in unmarked mass graves, according to Amnesty International.
Khomeini labeled them “mohareb,” or “warriors against God,” and criticized the Revolutionary Courts for not sentencing them to death sooner. This mass execution campaign signaled the government’s resolve to eliminate all dissent, regardless of legal precedent or human rights norms.
In the years that followed, the government systematically assassinated prominent Kurdish leaders and other opposition leaders, both in Iran and overseas.
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This targeted elimination of Kurdish leadership, combined with the mass executions of political prisoners, was a deliberate strategy to decapitate any organized opposition before it could challenge the government’s survival.
A new crisis, the same strategy
The Islamic Republic appears to be using the same playbook now, but under far more fragile conditions.
Given the precarious state of the government, it is fair to ask why there are not more protests now, especially in ethnic minority regions. For many, the answer is fear over what happens next.
Many Kurds have learned from previous uprisings – particularly the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” movement – that when they lead protests, they face the harshest crackdown. Over 56% of those killed and persecuted in the subsequent crackdown were Kurds.
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Meanwhile, the overall opposition remains fractured and leaderless, both along ethnic lines and in terms of goals. The main opposition groups have traditionally been reluctant to acknowledge ethnic rights, let alone include them in any vision for a future Iran. Rather, they insist on “territorial integrity” as a precondition for any dialogue, echoing the Islamic Republic’s rhetoric.
This is a key legacy of the Islamic Republic: Its propaganda has not only shaped domestic opinion but also influenced the opposition, dividing Iranians at home and abroad. And it has long mobilized the dominant ethnic group against minorities, especially Kurds, by portraying them as internal enemies.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Shukriya Bradost, Virginia Tech
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Shukriya Bradost does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Syria announces ceasefire after deadly clashes in Druze region
Syria’s president urges all parties to respect a ceasefire in the Sweida region. The area has been the scene of deadly clashes between rebels and government forces. The government has agreed to allow limited access to the area for two days.
That’s after deadly conflict in Sweida city over the last week left hundreds dead.
It began with factional clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze armed groups…
Before Damascus sent in government security forces.
Israel then launched airstrikes on these government troops and the defense ministry in Damascus.
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Saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority and to ensure the area near the Israeli border remained demilitarized.
In a separate speech, al-Sharaa said that “Arab and American” mediation had helped bring calm.
Syria’s government said its security forces had begun deploying in the region under this ceasefire.
And an Israeli official said on Friday that the government had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for the next two days.
US Army drops into Australia for massive war games
U.S. paratroopers made the most dramatic entrance possible to Australia during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. They flew 14.5 hours nonstop from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. After landing, they proceeded to march another 30-plus miles to seize an urban objective located near Townsville in northern Queensland. Their 6,800-mile flight was only the beginning of the unit’s simulated joint forcible entry operation. Six C-17A Globemaster III aircraft transported 323 American and a dozen German paratrooper on the intercontinental flight, while French troops joined the sky train upon their arrival Down Under. The C- 17s also dropped heavy equipment such as HMMWVs. The 11th Airborne Division is a mobile combat brigade equipped with Infantry Squad Vehicles, while the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) is equipped with 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Regiment – nickname “Three Geronimo” (Gordon Arthur/staff)
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
TOWNSVILLE, Australia — U.S. paratroopers made the most dramatic entrance possible to Australia during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. Flying 14.5 hours nonstop from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, they parachuted from the night sky into the Australian countryside on July 14.
“We landed right on the X,” Col. Brian Weightman, commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division, told Defense News during an interview in Townsville.
The commander said he was the first to jump onto the drop zone.
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In such a parachute operation, casualties of up to 10% are anticipated, he explained.
“We’re very comfortable with that if we land and 90% of the force is able to continue on,” Weightman said.
Luckily, this nighttime airdrop resulted in only three minor injuries, one of which was caused by a midair parachute entanglement in the dark.
Their 6,800-mile flight was only the beginning of the unit’s simulated joint forcible entry operation. After landing, the paratroopers from the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Regiment – nickname “Three Geronimo” – proceeded to march another 30-plus miles to seize an urban objective located near Townsville in northern Queensland.
Col. Brian Weightman, commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) of the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division, is pictured at the Talisman Sabre exercise in Townsville, Australia, in July 2025. (Gordon Arthur/staff)
“To be able to do that with real violence and at speed is really impressive, and I think it should scare adversaries,” the commander said.
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Six C-17A Globemaster III aircraft – four from the U.S. Air Force and two from Australia – transported 323 American and a dozen German paratroopers on the intercontinental flight, while French troops joined the sky train upon their arrival Down Under. The C-17s also dropped heavy equipment such as HMMWVs.
Technological gains
Weightman relayed how he enjoyed continuous communications to higher headquarters with voice, data and video from his aircraft. This high bandwidth is a big deal, as it “gives you a lot better situational awareness and a lot better understanding of what’s going on. You’re able to really paint a much better picture of the enemy.”
Furthermore, “To be able to directly deliver an infantry battalion with its command that is situationally aware and physically optimized onto a drop zone 7,000 miles away, means that you can really go anywhere in the world.”
Asked whether nighttime parachute jumps are more challenging, Weightman responded, “For us it’s not much more. You know, we own the night, so once we get on the drop zone, we have an asymmetric advantage against our adversaries.”
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Talisman Sabre is meant to showcase interoperability, which is “easy to talk about but hard to do,” according to the colonel.
Nighttime jumps demonstrate “the highest level of proficiency,” he said.
After refitting in Townsville, more than 400 American paratroopers were to join 100 German and 36 French soldiers to perform another nighttime jump on July 21, this time at Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland.
“This airfield seizure and expanded lodgment is very classic – it’s the bread and butter of the airborne infantry,” Weightman noted.
The 11th Airborne Division possesses two of the U.S. Army’s five airborne brigades: the 1st Brigade is a mobile combat brigade equipped with Infantry Squad Vehicles, while 2nd Brigade is airborne. Asked what his division brings, Weightman highlighted two things – the ability to move anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, and the other is its Arctic mission.
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“We’re the only brigades in the world that have the ability to conduct offensive operations in the Arctic,” the commander said. The troops can operate in arctic climates or the subtropics of Australia with equal adeptness.
Defense News asked whether there is still a place for airborne units on modern battlefields. After all, Russia’s airmobile operation at Hostomel Airport at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ended disastrously.
“I would argue, yes,” Weightman responded. “And as I’m looking from the enemy’s perspective, what we’re able to do would absolutely scare me if I was the enemy of our country.”
The Indo-Pacific region is rife with tensions – China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula – and the 11th Airborne Division is ready to accomplish offensive, defensive, stability or expeditionary operations, said the brigade commander.
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Asked about the rising threat from China, Weightman responded, “You know, we’re not training against a specific adversary. What we’re training to do is to be interoperable with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.”
However, he continued, “If we’re able to do that and mass power from anywhere to anywhere at scale, then we should be able to beat any adversary and keep the Indo-Pacific region open.”
The exercise was the eleventh iteration of Talisman Sabre. The drill involved more than 40,000 troops from 19 nations.