A long-standing territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has flared into one of Southeast Asia’s most dangerous military escalations in years, with both sides trading deadly strikes across the contested border and warning of the possibility of all-out war.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai sounded the alarm in a press briefing from Bangkok this week, warning that the ongoing clashes “could escalate into full-scale war” if not promptly addressed through diplomacy. The violence, which erupted anew on July 25, has already resulted in the deaths of over a dozen civilians, including the revered abbot of a centuries-old temple on the Cambodian side of the border.

The fighting centers on a disputed stretch of territory near the ancient Hindu temple complex of Prasat Ta Muen Thom, located along the forested border of Thailand’s Surin Province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey. The dispute traces its roots to the early 20th century, when French colonial maps demarcated the region ambiguously, sowing seeds of resentment and competing claims that have festered into the 21st century.

Tensions between the two countries began rising again in late May, when a Cambodian soldier was reportedly killed in a border patrol incident that Phnom Penh blamed on Thai forces. In the weeks that followed, skirmishes intensified, and both governments began accusing one another of provocations.

On July 25, the Thai military launched a series of airstrikes using F-16 fighter jets targeting what it described as Cambodian military positions near the disputed zone. The Cambodian government swiftly condemned the strikes, reporting civilian........

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