CAMBODIA has withdrawn completely from the Thailand SEA Games amid a dramatic escalation of its long-running border dispute with Thailand, a conflict that has already forced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides to flee to safer ground.
Local officials confirmed that at least 11 soldiers and civilians have been killed across the two countries after fresh clashes broke the ceasefire previously brokered with the help of the United States.
AFP cited today that Cambodia had earlier withdrawn from eight events at the Games, citing “security” concerns.
However, senior SEA Games official Akarin Hiranprueck confirmed yesterday that the country would now not compete at all.
The SEA Games are currently under way in Bangkok and the coastal province of Chonburi until 20 December, involving thousands of Southeast Asian athletes competing in football, fencing, skateboarding, sailing and various combat sports.
But the renewed violence between Cambodia and Thailand — rooted in a border dispute that has simmered for more than a century — has overshadowed the biennial event.
Security was visibly heightened at Tuesday night’s opening ceremony at Bangkok’s Rajamangala National Stadium, which was attended by members of Thailand’s royal family and featured Thai K-pop star BamBam.
A small Cambodian contingent still took part in the athletes’ parade despite the withdrawal decision.
This week’s hostilities mark the deadliest flare-up since a five-day confrontation in July that claimed dozens of lives before a ceasefire was reached through the intervention of then US President Donald Trump.
Both governments have traded accusations over who sparked the latest fighting, which by Tuesday had spread to five provinces across the two countries, according to information released to AFP.
More than 500,000 people have now been displaced since tensions reignited, surpassing the number uprooted during the earlier crisis this year, the two governments said.
The historic dispute stems from French colonial-era border maps, with Thailand and Cambodia each claiming ownership of several temple complexes situated in contested frontier zones. - December 10, 2025 - December 10, 2025
