Leaked Call With Cambodian Leader Leads to Thai PM Suspension

• Thai PM Paetongtarn suspended by Constitutional Court over leaked June 15 call with Hun Sen.
• She called Hun Sen "uncle," criticized Thai army general, triggering mass protests and coalition collapse.

Thailand's political and diplomatic landscape was thrown into turmoil when the Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The decision came amid an ethics investigation sparked by a leaked phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen after a deadly border skirmish.

Thailand's Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office pending an investigation into whether she violated ethical standards during a phone call with Hun Sen.

What exactly was in the leaked phone call?

The call was made on June 15, weeks after a border clash between Thai and Cambodian forces on May 28, which killed one Cambodian soldier.

Thailand saw a political uproar after the call was leaked, with detractors accusing Paetongtarn of compromising military authority and endangering national interests. The call was recorded by Hun Sen and subsequently leaked. According to Hun Sen, more than 80 people were shown the recorded conversation.

Paetongtarn and Hun Sen were overheard debating whether to loosen restrictions put in place after the fight and how to ease border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Paetongtarn referred to Hun Sen as "uncle" during the phone conversation, according to several reports. Paetongtarn's father, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, is good friends with Hun Sen.

She reportedly advised Hun Sen not to listen to "the other side" in Thailand, citing an outspoken Thai army commander who had criticized Cambodia. In the leaked phone call, Paetongtarn is also heard calling the army commander "an opponent."

Paetongtarn reportedly didn't stop there. She referred to the army commander as someone who "just wants to look cool".According to the Associated Press, she also promised to try to accommodate Hun Sen and instructed him to tell her what he wanted.

The comments were criticized for being overly accommodative, which could have a negative impact on Thailand's military and diplomatic standing. According to an AP report, Paetongtarn denied any harm to national interests and defended her remarks as part of a negotiating strategy despite her apology.

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What's new with Thailand-Cambodia tensions?

Cambodia has taken the latest border dispute to the ICJ, seeking a legal resolution for a number of contested areas, including the site of the May 28 clash. Thailand, on the other hand, has rejected ICJ jurisdiction, preferring to resolve the dispute through a  bilateral mechanism,  established in 2000—a joint committee in charge of land demarcation.

The standoff is getting worse as Cambodia insists on ending bilateral talks. Diplomacy has become more difficult due to the rise in nationalistic rhetoric on both sides.

There is more to the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia than just conflict over shared borders. The long-standing cultural animosity between the two nations stems from their time as sizable, rival empires.

Negative sentiments have remained in recent years as Cambodia's development has fallen well short of Thailand's due to French colonialism and the cruel rule of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

Cultural goods like mask dancing, boxing, traditional attire, and cuisine have been the source of conflict between the two nations.