Despite Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, through mediation by POTUS Donald J. Trump, agreeing verbally to a ceasefire last night, the Thai military is still launching rockets and conducting shelling into Cambodian territory.
Let’s give them a slight benefit of the doubt that they agreed to a ceasefire with certain conditions in mind. In this case, it’s highly probable that the condition is when they think they are holding an advantage on the battleground. Through this logic, we can safely conclude that the Thai military is failing in their objective and running out of time, mainly due to their inexperienced and arrogant leadership’s inability. Their invasion could never inspire their soldiers, despite their efforts to sell the false narrative about Cambodia being the villain in their story. The courage of the invader simply could never match the courage of the invaded. We have proven that, despite all their big talk about their expensive fighter jets and advanced weapons, they are failing in every battle, and soon the world will know about their deceitful lies.
Trust is a very fundamental element for any peace talk to sustain. Now, not only has Thailand not signaled any intention to achieve a ceasefire and de-escalation at the moment, they are jeopardizing the already tiny trust that Cambodia has with them. Thailand has lost a good, friendly, peaceful neighbor and a big customer for their products.
Cambodians are now united more than ever, and I certainly hope all Cambodian people will never forget this moment in history, and constantly use it as a bitter reminder that “They never want us to be better, so we must want it for ourselves. If they perceive us to be weaker than them, this thing will keep happening over and over again. So you know what to do.”
Author: Kim Sopheakraboth