Six weeks ago, Cambodia and Thailand agreed a ceasefire to end a bitter five-day war over disputed borderland territory in which at least 43 people were killed. The truce got off to a shaky start but no shots have been fired since late July. To the outside world, the matter seemed if not resolved, then at least shelved.

On the ground, it’s a different story. Borders are closed. Troops have not withdrawn. Some Thai districts remain under martial law and Cambodia has been accused of planting landmines. Last month convoys of Cambodian army reinforcements rumbled towards the border as crowds marched through the country’s capital singing nationalist songs, while portraits of the prime minister and his generals were unfurled along boulevards.

It is a fraught situation and public anger is mounting. Thai troops have reportedly seized homes from Cambodian families in villages that, though 150km from the originally contested areas, they claim are their nation’s territory. These communities insist that they are on Cambodian soil but the issue is backing Phnom Penh into a corner. Do they ignore it and look weak or engage and risk escalation?

Both sides are wary of angering the US and China, which brokered the ongoing truce and could hurt their economies if so inclined. Donald Trump claims the ceasefire as a personal victory and threatened to raise tariffs if peace talks failed. So Cambodia’s government has opted for a third way: a propaganda push. Having historically accused journalists and dissidents who it wants to jail of being pro-American, the country is suddenly the US’s biggest cheerleader: nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and naming a highway in his honour.

Having dismantled its free press and detained reporters trying to cover the fray, Cambodia made an about-turn when the White House correspondent of an obscure US online news outlet arrived in Phnom Penh. He was met by a delegation including the prime minister’s sister, ferried to meetings with top Cambodian politicians and escorted to the border. There, he filmed outraged videos decrying Thailand’s alleged violations that were a direct infringement of Trump’s ceasefire.

This so-called “correspondent” is a small-time political lobbyist from South Carolina who, according to watchdog OpenSecrets, has had just three modestly paying clients since 2021. The outlet, Next News Network, is known for mixing far-right news with narratives that align with those of Russia. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading racial justice charity, describes it as a “patriot” hate group – an extremist anti-government organisation with a white-supremacist agenda. Strange bedfellows for the Cambodian government, perhaps – except that the site is reliably, virulently pro-Trump. And now, also, anti-Thai. Thailand, for whom the US is a key ally and source of military aid, was naturally furious and banned the lobbyist who was due to report there too.

Such interference in geopolitics from the far-right media is a global phenomenon and one that fails to address the very real circumstances on the ground. While neither Thailand nor Cambodia wants the blame for derailing the ceasefire, both are holding firm through gritted teeth. For now, the truce is holding but in a world filled with potential flashpoints, the summer has delivered another in a region with a bloody past.

Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy are freelance journalists based in Cambodia.

This story originally appeared in The Monocle Minute

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