Applicability of peaceful political philosophy in resolving the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand

The conflict of 2025 on the Cambodia-Thailand border, fuelled by long-standing disputes over territory and exacerbated by nationalist sentiment, has caused significant human suffering and instability within the region. This paper examines how concepts of peaceful political thought and conflict-resolution theory can be applied to strategies for resolving conflicts and preventing future incidents. It will discuss the conflict context, historical disputes over temple sites and colonial frontier delimitation, and the current conflict, which has led to the cessation of fire agreements through ASEAN, Chinese, and U.S. mediation. Using an international relations theory and conflict studies approach, which includes “needs theory,” important aspects of the conflict to be addressed include territorial issues, security dilemmas, and identity needs, as well as how previous ceasefires were sufficient to address these issues. To achieve sustainable peace, issues of demilitarization, dialogue, trust-building, and meeting the basic needs of both parties are also important. Recommendations will be made regarding specific parties: Cambodian and Thai parties should, respectively, commit to the Kuala Lumpur Joint Statement of October 2025 and undertake confidence-building measures in line with UN- and ASEAN-led mediation efforts, such as the release of prisoners of war, demining areas, and controlled troop withdrawals. ASEAN communities should support negotiations by utilizing ASEAN norms that provide for community-building principles of “consensus” and “noninterference,” encouraging ASEAN community transparency, and establishing an operative means by which these conflicts can be resolved via ASEAN forums, as well as the potential use of the International Court of Justice at the Hague. Great powers such as China and the USA should act in concert through ASEAN conciliation facilitation, in which China's patient facilitation is combined with the USA's influence. Finally, the UN should abide by the principles enshrined in the Charter, which require that these conflicts be resolved in ways that align with the Secretary-General's appeal to “restraint and dialogue.” There is an obvious benefit to applying philosophy through peaceful engagement, noting the concepts of mutual acknowledgment of sovereign power and the satisfaction of individuals' needs.