Photo: Military Channel of China Central Television

The Thailand-Cambodia conflict on Thursday escalated with the deployment of heavy weapons such as fighter jets and rocket artillery following landmine incidents along the disputed border, according to media reports. A Chinese military affairs expert said the clashes were intensifying, and warned of further escalation between China's two friendly neighbors.

A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said. The Thai army claimed one of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, while Cambodia's defense ministry claimed the jets dropped two bombs on a road, according to a report by Reuters.

The air raid came after clashes began early on Thursday near the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km from the Thai capital Bangkok, per Reuters.

Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday. Reuters reported that Thailand's military claimed Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson claimed, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defense ministry, however, claimed there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defense.

Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the latest development of Thailand deploying F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia deploying rocket artillery indicated a worsening of the Thailand-Cambodia border situation, which is on the risk of a further escalation. From a military standpoint, Thailand holds an advantage due to its more advanced weaponry.

Both Thailand and Cambodia are friendly neighbors of China, and this escalation benefits neither side, nor the whole region. The best way out is a peaceful solution through talks, Zhang said.

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various un-demarcated points along their 817 km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes, Reuters reported.

Reuters credited the outbreak of the latest conflict to landmines. According to its report, Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.

China has been actively engaged in helping countries including Cambodia solving the landmine issue, a move Zhang said showed China's responsibility in safeguarding peace and stability in the region.

In 2024, The Chinese People's Liberation Army's Army Engineering University hosted two demining courses for personnel from Cambodia and Laos, Zhang Xiaogang, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, said at the time.

Cambodia and Laos are the most severely affected countries by mines. The Chinese military attaches great importance to international cooperation on demining. Over the past 20-plus years, China has trained over 700 demining professionals from more than 20 countries, and sent expert groups abroad to conduct on-site teaching multiple times. The Chinese military will continue to strengthen substantive cooperation with militaries in the region, and make contributions to international humanitarian mine action, Zhang Xiaogang said.