Cambodia–Thailand: Pierre-Yves Clais, the Pain — and the Hope — of a Friend of the Khmer Kingdom

Pierre-Yves Clais is above all a man of the field, deeply connected to Cambodia for more than three decades. A former blue helmet who arrived in a country scarred by war, he saw the nation reborn and threw himself body and soul into its reconstruction. His attachment to the Khmer land today goes far beyond that of a simple foreign observer: he has become a witness, an actor, and a defender of its living history.

Pierre-Yves Clais and his spouse Chenda

It is with sincere emotion and restrained indignation that he shares here his reflections on the growing tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Through his words, both the pain of seeing a beloved country once again wounded and the hope that dialogue, justice, and brotherhood can prevail over hatred and violence emerge clearly.

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“Thirty-three years ago, as a young blue helmet, I arrived in Cambodia, a country still marked by the scars of war: broken roads, ruined buildings, and a traumatized population trying to rebuild itself. Over the years, stone by stone, smile by smile, I saw this country rise again.

And I loved it to the point of planting my roots there: I started a family there, and my three children carry within them this daily blend of Franco-Khmer pride.This Cambodia, I defended and promoted with all my strength. For twelve years, I created and regularly updated the guide Le Petit Futé Cambodge, so that travelers could, like me, discover its wonders.

I was, in succession, a junk captain and a specialized guide in remote areas, long putting my shoulder to the wheel, taking doctors, bankers, and families to discover deep Cambodia, its jungles, its lost temples, sharing with them its history (and its bawdy gossip…) from the earliest explorers to the families now in power.

Through the Airavata Foundation, we have worked, and still work, to protect elephants, those peaceful giants who embody the soul of the country.”

He has explored the jungles on foot, fraternized with ethnic minorities in remote provinces, and continues to travel this territory by motorcycle, from the banks of the Mekong to the Cardamom Mountains. Every turn, every smile he encounters strengthens this visceral attachment.

The Border Tensions and the History of the Conflicts

Having recently visited the border areas with Thailand and following current events closely, he says he was, unfortunately, not surprised by the recent escalation. The tensions had been brewing, incidents were multiplying: targeted attacks on Cambodian civilians by the Thai army, acts of collective humiliation including the use of tanker trucks filled with human excrement.

These violences included repeated physical brutality against civilians, as well as the gang rape of a young Cambodian migrant by members of the Thai army, a serious crime that has gone without a serious investigation or sanctions, illustrating total impunity.It was clear to me that Thailand’s old territorial claims on Khmer land would not simply disappear on their own.

The Historical Role of France

As a Frenchman living in Cambodia, the shared history between the two nations remains a profound source of inspiration for him. From the 14th century, the Khmer kingdom suffered a long series of aggressions from Siam, including territorial annexations, cultural appropriations, and the enslavement of entire populations.

At the explicit request of the king Norodom, France intervened to end this violent expansionism.

By establishing a protectorate, it protected the Khmer kingdom from total absorption and negotiated clear borders, notably through the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1907 under King Rama V, which restored to Cambodia essential provinces such as Battambang and Siem Reap, including the ancient capital of Angkor.

However, since Cambodia’s independence in 1953, Thailand has revived its old territorial claims, pursuing them through national education imbued with propaganda, racism, and hatred against the Khmers, passed down to successive generations.Neither the successive decisions of the International Court of Justice — notably in 1962 and 2013, confirming Cambodian sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple and its promontory — nor the listing of Khmer sites as UNESCO World Heritage has appeased these tensions; on the contrary, they appear to have exacerbated them.

The Tragedy of Ta Krobey

This summer, after the first hostilities broke out, he and others attempted to bring some aid and comfort to refugees and soldiers, particularly at Ta Krobey, a small, magnificent 11th-century temple with which they had deep friendships.

Seeing Ta Krobey reduced to a pile of rubble, deliberately targeted and destroyed under the false pretext that it had been turned into a bunker and posed a threat, breaks my heart. It was not just a historic site: it was a living symbol of Khmer resistance.In reality, the Cambodians had only put sandbags, anti-drone nets, and a few soldiers in place to protect Ta Krobey and prevent Thai forces from seizing it as they had announced.

Reflection on Violence and Injustice

The recent events — attacks along the entire border, airstrikes, bombings, damaged or destroyed temples, civilians caught in the crossfire — fill him with deep disgust at the persistence of rhetoric that exploits nationalism to divert attention from Thailand’s internal crises.

I do not hate anyone. I only hate injustice, this unbridled racism and violence from a privileged country that burdens this small kingdom I love so much.

A Call for Peace and Brotherhood

His expectations are simple: that the international community, ASEAN, and major powers finally push for lasting peace based on international law and respect for past decisions. That the weapons fall silent once and for all, that temples be preserved for future generations, and that these two peoples, so culturally close, learn to coexist without endlessly stoking old hatreds.

Cambodia deserves serenity. It has already suffered enough. May we all, on both sides of the border, choose reason and brotherhood, with the hope of a peaceful future.

Pierre-Yves Clais