BANGKOK, Thailand -- A deadly Emerald Triangle border feud between Thailand and Cambodia has worsened to include economic boycotts, frontier closures, disputed claims over Hindu temples north of Angkor Wat, and an embarrassing, trust-breaking leaked phone call between the two nations' leaders about Thailand's military.

Also at stake is Thailand's political stability and survival of its fragile, rival-packed coalition government which is denying perceptions of being obsequious and soft on Cambodia while the Royal Thai Army favors a strong response.

Claiming to defend their side of the frontier, Thai armed forces shot dead one Cambodian soldier on May 28 in jungle and scrubland known as the Emerald Triangle where eastern Thailand, northern Cambodia, and southern Laos meet.

The Thai-Cambodian border includes a no man's zone that is not officially demarcated, attracting human and wildlife traffickers, illegal loggers, smugglers, fugitives, and other criminals.

The latest spiral in relations came when Cambodia's de facto leader, former prime minister and current Senate President Hun Sen, leaked a phone conversation he had with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Ms. Paetongtarn said on June 18 that the leaked phone call was genuine and included her saying to Mr. Hun Sen on June 15 that she did not want him "to listen to the opposing side, especially since the [Thai] Second Army Region commander is entirely from the opposition.

“He [the commander] just wants to appear cool or impressive. He may say things that are not beneficial to the country,” she told Mr. Hun Sen.

Lt. Gen. Boonsin Padklang is commander of the Second Army Region that covers northeastern Thailand, including the disputed border area where gunfire erupted.

Lt. Gen. Boonsin had expressed his troops' robustness and readiness to defend Thailand -- which reportedly angered Mr. Hun Sen.

After she was exposed by the leaked audio, an upset and worried Ms. Paetongtarn faced the nation on June 18, flanked by five of her ministers, and said:

"It was part of an effort to defuse the situation and promote understanding, knowing that Hun Sen was upset.

"In the conversation, I said the Second Army Region commander had made such [hawkish] comments, and given that Thailand and Cambodia were in opposing positions at the time, such remarks were to be expected.

"I told him not to dwell on it."

Stung that her much-trumpeted friendship with Mr. Hun Sen and his son, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, was now in tatters, Ms. Paetongtarn said, "I now understand that Hun Sen may have released the clip to bolster his political standing at home.

"From this point forward, there will be no further private discussions of this nature," she said.

Mr. Hun Sen said he recorded a 17-minute call with Ms. Paetongtarn and sent it to about 80 cronies to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, but only nine minutes were later leaked.

Thailand's Interior Minister Anutin Bhumjai pointed to Ms. Paetongtarn's sensational statements in the leaked phone call and announced he and his Bhumjaithai (Proud to be Thai) Party were leaving her coalition.

Mr. Anutin was already widely expected to drop out of the government in frustration that he might be demoted to a lower ministry during an upcoming cabinet reshuffle.

His walkout yanked the BJT's 69 politicians out of parliament, leaving Ms. Paetongtarn and her Pheu Thai (For Thais) Party with a slim majority atop a vulnerable coalition, amid calls for fresh elections.

The border dispute meanwhile will continue to haunt Ms. Paetongtarn's relationship with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

It's complicated.

Ms. Paetongtarn's father is a coup-toppled, twice-elected, former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. 

He has been close friends for many years with Hun Sen, Cambodia's authoritarian former prime minister who is now the father of Prime Minister Hun Manet.

After falling in a bloodless 2006 military putsch, Mr. Thaksin fled overseas to avoid several years in prison for corruption convictions.

Mr. Hun Sen helped him in 2009 by appointing Mr. Thaksin as an "advisor," giving the billionaire the aura of being a key player in Southeast Asia's murky, treacherous, lucrative politics.

Mr. Hun Sen reaffirmed "32 years of friendship" after Mr. Thaksin voluntarily returned to Thailand after 15 years in self-exile.

Mr. Thaksin told reporters that his cordial relations with Mr. Hun Sen meant, "Instead of shooting each other, we can just play takraw [Thai kickball] with each other in the evening."

Many Thais perceive that chummy friendship as the reason Mr. Thaksin and his prime ministerial daughter are allegedly soft on Cambodia.

Last year, the duo were criticized as allegedly too lenient towards Cambodia during a border dispute in the resource-rich Gulf of Thailand.

Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut, the Thai leader of the popular opposition People’s Party, wrote:

"Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister’s father, has communicated that there is nothing to worry about, because he can use his own personal relationships to alleviate the situation with Cambodia’s leaders.

"However, Thaksin’s words amounted to pouring gasoline on a fire, because Cambodia’s leaders do not want to be seen as dealmaking with Thailand’s leaders, and so they have now acted even more aggressively, corresponding with with the sense of nationalism in Cambodia," Mr. Natthaphong said.

Some opposition groups may be hoping that by poking the government about its response to Cambodia, it will weaken the coalition and possibly cause its collapse.

"Right-wing opponents of the Shinawatras, in particular, are using the issue of Thai-Cambodian border issues to attack the Paetongtarn government," Paul Chambers, a visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said in an interview.

"This issue could become increasingly productive for the right wing opposition," Mr. Chambers said.

Thai media describe Mr. Thaksin as the "de facto boss of the Pheu Thai Party" which is officially led by his daughter who leads an uneasy coalition which includes pro-military parties.

Some people blamed Cambodia for hyping the dispute to score domestic political points.

"Cambodia always does this when it has internal problems, economic trouble, or upcoming elections," former Thai foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai said at a forum.

"They stir up border tensions to create a nationalist distraction."

Bangkok's squabbling coalition may make Thailand appear weak and confused, and give Phnom Penh the impression that this is an ideal time to finally grab some disputed land, he said.

"Cambodia may sense this is the right moment -- Thailand's politics are unstable, cabinet reshuffles are pending, and the bureaucracy has been idling for months," Mr. Surakiart said, according to the Bangkok Post.

Cambodia began escalating pressure against Bangkok several days ago by boycotting electricity and disconnecting broadband internet cables supplied by Thailand, switching to importing electricity from Vietnam, and utilizing Phnom Penh's internet providers.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said when he heard about Thai "extremist groups" demanding Thailand stop exporting electricity and broadband internet to Cambodia, he decided to act first.

Thailand is worried about future Cambodian troop reinforcements to the border, and those fears may have resulted in some Thais trying to deter such a move by threatening electricity and internet could be cut in retaliation, the Thai News Room site reported.

The Cambodian prime minister said on June 12: "To avoid putting the Thai side in a difficult position regarding whether, or when, to proceed with a disconnection, Cambodia has decided to ensure its own electricity and internet supply."

As a result, optical fiber network companies and internet service providers in Cambodia reportedly stopped importing power and access from Thailand.

"The disconnection will lead to Thailand’s loss of revenue amounting to hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars,” Post and Telecommunication Minister Chea Vandeth said in a statement.

“The consequence is due to the threat from Thailand, to which Cambodia has promptly responded.”

Prime Minister Paetongtarn, when asked about the possibility of Thailand cutting off electricity and internet exports to Cambodia, replied: "It is only a preparatory measure, and we have no plans to execute it."

The next day, Cambodia blocked imported Thai fruit, vegetables, and other agricultural products at border crossings where they arrive by truck.

Cambodia's Culture Ministry "immediately suspended" the showing of Thai movies in theaters and on television.

Cambodia said these boycotts were in response to Thailand's closure of several border gates which disrupted crossings for thousands of Thais and Cambodians daily in vehicles and on foot, resulting in businesses losses and other problems on both sides.

Bangkok said it closed and shortened the border crossing schedules to maintain security after the Emerald Triangle shooting and movement of Cambodian troops.

At a Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) session on June 15, Cambodia rejected Thailand's plea to keep their border talks confidential between the two nations and not internationalize the crisis. 

Instead, Phnom Penh snubbed Bangkok and took Cambodia's claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands, which earlier twice ruled in Cambodia's favor on a nearby chunk of border land which included the 1,000-year-old Hindu and Buddhist temple ruins at Preah Vihear, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The latest shooting flared near Preah Vihear, at the Chong Bok border crossing.

"The current issue started from a brief clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in the area of Chong Bok, Ubon Ratchathani province of Thailand, on 28 May 2025," a Thai government statement said.

Thai troops claimed Cambodian soldiers "encroached" into a disputed area at Chong Bok, and dug a 2,100-ft.-long (650-meter) trench, visible in overhead photographs displayed by the Thai government. 

"The Thai troops were compelled to defend themselves, while conducting routine patrols within the area under Thai sovereignty in accordance with established practices," the government said.

"This action was an act of self-defense and a necessary measure to protect Thailand’s sovereignty. The response was appropriate, proportionate, and consistent with international law," it said.

After the two sides ended their shooting and began negotiations, the Cambodians filled in their trench and ordered their troops to retreat to their usual positions along the border, Thai officials said.

When Cambodia announced it would take its case to the ICJ, the U.N.'s judicial arm, Mr. Hun Manet, said:

"Let’s not fall for the incitement of a handful of extremist groups in Cambodia and Thailand, and let’s not fall into the problem of confrontation by armed forces of the two countries."

Bangkok ignored the ICJ's two previous judgements, which have no real power of enforcement but can be used to advise the U.N. about international law, sanctions, and other options to take against an errant nation.

Cambodia included in its court case the ruins of three ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples -- Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch, and Ta Kro Bei -- which dot the disputed Thai-Cambodian frontier in a line westward from Preah Vihear and the Emerald Triangle.

The disputed border is about 65 miles north of Cambodia's world famous, ancient, slave-built Angkor Wat temple complex next to Siem Reap city.

"Thailand has not recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ since 1960," the Thai government said.

ICJ judges ruled in 1962 -- and reaffirmed in 2013 -- that a nearby disputed area along their border belonged to Cambodia, including Preah Vihear and the severe cliff leading up to it from Cambodia's jungle floor.

Cambodia and Thailand bloodied each other's troops in 2008 over Preah Vihear, which is held by Thailand.