India issues advisory for travellers as Thailand-Cambodia border tensions escalate

Bangkok [Thailand], December 11 (ANI): The Indian Embassy in Thailand has advised Indian travellers to check official updates before visiting areas near the Thailand-Cambodia border, where tensions have escalated in recent days.

"In view of the situation near the Thailand-Cambodia border, Indian travellers who plan to visit these areas are advised to check updates from Thai official sources," the Embassy said.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsroom, travel across the country continues normally and restrictions are limited to selected border areas.

"Travel across Thailand remains normal. Security measures are in place only in selected border areas near Cambodia," the agency said.

Rail services to Ban Khlong Luek have been suspended, while buses to Kantharalak are being diverted through the Karnchang Intersection. Travellers have also been advised to avoid Route 348 in Buri Ram. Major tourist destinations, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui, Krabi, Pattaya and Ayutthaya, remain open and continue to receive visitors as usual.

UNESCO has raised strong concern over the renewed tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, including around the Preah Vihear Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In a statement, UNESCO called for urgent protection of cultural heritage in "all its forms" and reminded both countries of their obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1972 World Heritage Convention.

"UNESCO will continue to monitor the situation of cultural heritage in the region, with a view to ensuring its protection," the organisation said. It added that it is ready to provide technical assistance and emergency protection measures "as soon as conditions allow."

The statement comes amidst reports of escalating tensions between Thailand and Cambodia on the border that began on December 10 with artillery and rocket attacks against civilians. As per local media reports, each side has blamed the other for the attacks.

Earlier this year in May, a Cambodian soldier was killed and Thai troops were injured in a landmine blast near the disputed area. That incident was followed by rocket strikes and cross-border fighting, resulting in at least nine civilian deaths, including women and children, by July 2025.

Following this the US President Donald Trump's administration and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped broker a truce between the two countries that was sealed on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

On Thursday morning, Cambodia's Defence Ministry said that Thai F-16 aircraft dropped munitions on five provinces. The ministry described the attacks on both military and civilian areas as a serious violation of international humanitarian law. It said Cambodian forces remain in defensive positions and continue to resist Thai advances.

Cambodia's Ministry of the Interior on December 10 said homes, schools, roads, Buddhist pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by "Thailand's intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30km [18.6 miles] inside Cambodian territory".

"It should be noted that ... these brutal acts of aggression of the Thai military indiscriminately opened fire targeting civilian areas, especially schools, and further destroyed Ta Krabey and Preah Vihear temples, the highly sacred cultural sites of Cambodia and the world cultural heritage," it said.

As per a report in the Bangkok Post, the Thai Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that nine soldiers have been killed and 120 injured after five straight days of attacks. Cambodian officials said 10 civilians have perished and around 60 have been seriously hurt. It has not disclosed military casualties but unconfirmed reports have said at least eight soldiers had died.

The US president said he expected to speak on Thursday with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to their renewed clashes. The call would likely take place late Thursday night Thailand time.

"I think I'm scheduled to speak to them tomorrow," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

"They've been fighting for a very long time, many, many, many decades," he said. "But I got along great with both. I found they were two great leaders, two great people, and I settled it once. I think I can do it pretty quickly. I think, I think I can get them to stop fighting. Who else can do that? Think of it." Trump said as reported in the Bangkok Post.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took to his official Facebook page today to post that he had spoken last night with the prime ministers of both Cambodia and Thailand about the ongoing tensions, but said no complete resolution has yet been reached. He added that Malaysia will continue to support peaceful dialogue based on international law and regional cooperation to safeguard stability and security.

Cambodia and Thailand have been locked in a decades-long disagreement over the jurisdiction of various non-demarcated areas along their shared land border, which stretches more than 800 kilometres.

The two countries have disputed their land border ever since the colonial era map was drawn in 1907 by France, then the colonial administrator in Cambodia. As per the map the temple was placed in Cambodia. Although the International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia, tensions flared again in 2008 when Cambodia sought UNESCO World Heritage status for the temple, leading to years of sporadic clashes. Cambodia went to court in 2011, following several military clashes that killed about 20 people. The court reaffirmed the ruling in 2013. (ANI)

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