Over the weekend, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an unconditional cease-fire that took effect on July 28. The deal will hopefully end five days of border conflict that has killed dozens of civilians and soldiers on both sides and displaced 300,000 people in the border region.

The deal was brokered by Malaysia, the current holder of the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the two warring states are members. Both the United States and China had pressed the two sides to end the fighting.

Over the weekend, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an unconditional cease-fire that took effect on July 28. The deal will hopefully end five days of border conflict that has killed dozens of civilians and soldiers on both sides and displaced 300,000 people in the border region.

The deal was brokered by Malaysia, the current holder of the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the two warring states are members. Both the United States and China had pressed the two sides to end the fighting.

For more than a century, Cambodians and Thais have contested sovereignty over the 11th-century Preah Vihear Hindu temple, currently controlled by Cambodia, as well as several other religious sites along their contested border. The argument stems from France’s demarcation of borders during the colonial era, when Cambodia was part of French Indochina and Thailand remained an independent kingdom. Even though the International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled in favor of Cambodia, Thailand disputes the outcome, and the countries sporadically take up arms to voice their frustrations.

This time, however, personal issues enflamed an already delicate situation. On June 15, Cambodian strongman Hun Sen spoke with Thailand’s now-suspended prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in a conversation that Hun Sen, for unknown reasons, decided to record and subsequently leak. In the call, Shinawatra, whose family had been very close to the Huns since the rule of her father and former Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, called Hun Sen “uncle” and criticized one of her own Thai military commanders.

The recording, which many Thais interpreted as their prime minister engaging in treason, precipitated a political crisis in Thailand that continues to play out. On July 1, the Thai Constitutional Court suspended her, with the deputy prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, ultimately taking over as acting prime minister.

Meanwhile, there are differing theories as to why Hun Sen decided to leak the phone call. One is that he tried........

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