Airstrikes lay bare Thailand's tactics and Cambodia's vulnerabilities

A bridge, some 70 kilometers from the Thai border, in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province that was hit by a Thai airstrike on Dec. 19. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR

January 26, 2026 11:34 JST

CHEUNG TIEN, Cambodia -- When the Thai-Cambodian border war resumed in early December, the rice and potato farmers in this quiet rural neighborhood edged with wild shrubs felt they were safe. After all, the front line was some 70 kilometers away.