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Thailand and Cambodia Reinforcing Troops on Disputed Border After May Skirmish, Thai Minister Says

Thai police guard outside the Cambodian Embassy as the nationalist gather to protest over the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, in Bangkok, Thailand, 06 June 2025. (EPA)
Thai police guard outside the Cambodian Embassy as the nationalist gather to protest over the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, in Bangkok, Thailand, 06 June 2025. (EPA)
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Thailand and Cambodia Reinforcing Troops on Disputed Border After May Skirmish, Thai Minister Says

Thai police guard outside the Cambodian Embassy as the nationalist gather to protest over the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, in Bangkok, Thailand, 06 June 2025. (EPA)
Thai police guard outside the Cambodian Embassy as the nationalist gather to protest over the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, in Bangkok, Thailand, 06 June 2025. (EPA)

Thailand has reinforced its military presence along a disputed border with Cambodia, following an increase in troops on the other side, Thailand's defense minister said on Saturday, as tensions simmer following a deadly clash.

For days, the two Southeast Asian governments have exchanged carefully worded statements committing to dialogue after a brief skirmish in an undemarcated border area on May 28 in which a Cambodian soldier was killed.

But Phumtham Wechayachai, who also serves as Thailand's deputy prime minister, said that during talks bilateral talks held on Thursday, Cambodia had rejected proposals that could have led to a de-escalation.

"Furthermore, there has been a reinforcement of military presence, which has exacerbated tensions along the border," Phumtham said in a statement.

"Consequently, the Royal Thai Government has deemed it necessary to implement additional measures and to reinforce our military posture accordingly."

He did not provide details on the extent of reinforcements by either side.

In a separate statement on Saturday, the Thai army said Cambodian soldiers and civilians had repeatedly made incursions into Thailand's territory.

"These provocations, and the build up of military forces, indicate a clear intent to use force," the Thai army said, adding that it would take control of all Thai checkpoints along the border with Cambodia.

A spokesperson for Cambodia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.

The military reinforcements come despite efforts by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is the current chair of the Southeast Asian ASEAN bloc, and China to reduce tensions.

Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817 km (508 miles) land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony.

Tension escalated in 2008 over an 11th-century Hindu temple, leading to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011.

Current governments in both countries, however, have enjoyed warm ties. Former leaders Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand and Cambodia's Hun Sen have had a close relationship, and Thaksin's daughter and Hun Sen's son are now the incumbent prime ministers of their countries.

Still, nationalist sentiment has risen in Thailand and the Thai military said on Friday that it is ready to launch a "high-level operation" to counter any violation of its sovereignty.

Cambodia said this week it would refer disputes over four parts of the border to the International Court of Justice and asked Thailand to cooperate.

Phumtham reiterated in his Saturday statement that Thailand does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and proposed that all boundary-related issues be resolved through bilateral negotiations.

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US Forces Responded to Suspected Drone Activity Over Base in Britain

The main entrance at the RAF Lakenheath airbase, which hosts United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid reports of a security threat in Lakenheath, Britain, November 13, 2026. (Reuters)
The main entrance at the RAF Lakenheath airbase, which hosts United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid reports of a security threat in Lakenheath, Britain, November 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Forces Responded to Suspected Drone Activity Over Base in Britain

The main entrance at the RAF Lakenheath airbase, which hosts United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid reports of a security threat in Lakenheath, Britain, November 13, 2026. (Reuters)
The main entrance at the RAF Lakenheath airbase, which hosts United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid reports of a security threat in Lakenheath, Britain, November 13, 2026. (Reuters)

US forces responded to possible unauthorized drone activity over a military base in Britain Friday, spokespeople from the two countries said, in the latest security incident at a facility hosting American warplanes.

"No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected" at the RAF Lakenheath base, a US Air Force spokesperson said in a statement.

"We continue to work closely with our host nation counterparts to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, US and host nation civilians, contractors, and all of our families," the statement added.

A spokesperson for Britain's Ministry of Defense confirmed that account in a statement that said "the situation is now resolved."

A post on the official RAF Lakenheath Facebook page earlier this week urged people to report "suspicious activity, including unauthorized drone activity."

"Our strongest security asset is an observant community," the post said.

The possible drone incident at Lakenheath came after the US Justice Department announced charges earlier in the week against three men it described as "Iranian operatives" over their role in an alleged terrorist plot at RAF Fairford, another British base.

The three men allegedly helped plan and direct the September incident at the base, which came to light when police were called after a local farmer reported seeing a group of men with several white vans engaged in "suspicious" activity.

- Iran war fallout -

A US charging document stated that a man identified as Mohammad Ali al-Hassani directed unnamed individuals to drive to the base in the vans, some of which contained barrels of fuel, and that he earlier paid the group to buy metallic objects that could be used as shrapnel.

Days later, the United States withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the base.

UK police last month charged two British men with national security offenses related to the RAF Fairford incident.

One was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed to be in Iran, and another with entering a prohibited place for a purpose "prejudicial" to the UK.

Flight-tracking data meanwhile showed Tuesday that the US military had removed at least a dozen aircraft from another British airbase, RAF Mildenhall, following what the Wall Street Journal said was a threat from Iran.

The United States has flown military aircraft from bases in Britain as part of the US-Israeli war against Iran sparked earlier this year, which saw Tehran respond by launching missiles and drones at countries across the region, while the militant groups it backs also entered the fray.

In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei threatened to strike US bases beyond the Middle East, including in Europe, if they are used for attacks against the country.

Iranian officials have previously threatened to expand the geographic scope of the conflict should the US attack again.

In late September, an adviser to Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei publicly mused that the war could "expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond."

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Rubio Says Further US Military Action Is Not Needed Against Economically Weakened Iran

Secretary Marco Rubio delivers a keynote speech at Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, in Washington, DC on November 13, 2026. (AFP)
Secretary Marco Rubio delivers a keynote speech at Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, in Washington, DC on November 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Rubio Says Further US Military Action Is Not Needed Against Economically Weakened Iran

Secretary Marco Rubio delivers a keynote speech at Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, in Washington, DC on November 13, 2026. (AFP)
Secretary Marco Rubio delivers a keynote speech at Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, in Washington, DC on November 13, 2026. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that further US military action against Iran is unnecessary because the economic pain the US is inflicting on a weakened country is so great.

Rubio's comment in a speech to the Federalist Society reinforced a statement by US President Donald Trump earlier in the week that the war “militarily is effectively over.”

“And right now, frankly, the economic pain that we are inflicting on that regime is so great that there’s no need for military action because we’ve weakened them so much,” Rubio said. “But I think victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon.”

Rubio also acknowledged the economic pain Americans have experienced as a result of the war, which has driven up fuel costs and affected nearly every sector of the global economy.

It would have been easy for Trump to ignore the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, avoid an unpopular war and “leave it for the next person to worry about,” he said, adding that the president decided he was “not going to leave it unaddressed.”

“But it’s hard,” Rubio said. “It’s not easy and it’s difficult. And oftentimes it inflicts, you know, pain, economic pain and otherwise. So we recognize that.”

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Trump, Xi, Putin to Hold Historic Meeting in China, Says White House

Traditional Russian wooden dolls depicting China's President Xi Jinping, the US president, Donald Trump, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. (AP)
Traditional Russian wooden dolls depicting China's President Xi Jinping, the US president, Donald Trump, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. (AP)
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Trump, Xi, Putin to Hold Historic Meeting in China, Says White House

Traditional Russian wooden dolls depicting China's President Xi Jinping, the US president, Donald Trump, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. (AP)
Traditional Russian wooden dolls depicting China's President Xi Jinping, the US president, Donald Trump, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. (AP)

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will hold the first three-way meeting between the leaders of the United States, Russia and China at a summit in Shenzhen next week, the White House said Friday.

Trump wants to talk about reducing nuclear arsenals at the trilateral talks on Thursday and is also set to bring up his war in Iran -- but he is not expected to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, US officials said.

The three leaders will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the southern Chinese city, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told reporters.

"The president has made it clear that, among other topics, he will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world. This proliferation, President Trump believes, is very dangerous," Wales said.

One of the major conflicts dominating Trump's second term as president will feature, but the other will not, the US officials said.

"I think the president does intend to talk about Iran in the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin," a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on a call.

Washington has a "whole other track" of negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, the official added, referring to talks that US envoys have had in recent days with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"China is not really a part of that track, so it doesn't seem appropriate to have the Ukraine discussion there," the official added.

- Yalta redux? -

The meeting calls back to the 1945 Yalta summit in the Soviet Union, where then-US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, Britain's Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin laid out the post-WWII settlement and new territorial boundaries in Europe.

Zelensky has raised the alarm that the meeting in Shenzhen could be a Yalta-like "redistribution of spheres of influence" for the 21st century.

The Trump administration has sought to reassert US dominance over the "Western hemisphere" -- including by capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January -- but splitting the world among great powers like it's 1945 may not guarantee security.

Trump will also hold a bilateral working lunch and meeting with the Chinese president on Thursday -- their fourth meeting since the US president's return to power last year.

But Trump is not scheduled to have a separate one-on-one with Putin.

Among other topics, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's resignation over an affair with an alleged Chinese spy is not expected to come up in Trump's meetings with Xi, the officials said.

"The situation with Nvidia should not really have any bearing on the trip," a second US senior official said.

The United States also did not plan to discuss export controls on sensitive chip technology, which were at the heart of the Nvidia scandal.

"We do not negotiate American export controls. These are national security matters that we develop in the administration... and we don't expect it to figure at all in any of our conversations with the Chinese while we're there," the second official said.

Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk will accompany Trump on his trip to China but will not be involved in the meeting with Xi and Putin, the officials said.

Trump will leave Washington on Monday and arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) before heading to Shenzhen.