Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government was left clinging to a slim majority on Thursday after a key coalition partner quit late the night before, just hours after a leaked call showed her downplaying a general’s stance in talks with Cambodia’s former leader.
The Bhumjaithai Party, the second largest in the coalition with 69 seats, said it was pulling out over the fallout from the call, which was posted on Wednesday by Cambodia’s influential former prime minister Hun Sen, as tensions mount over a simmering border dispute.
The recording bore watermarks from pro-government outlet Fresh News, which published it around the same time.
Paetongtarn reported to the Government House as usual on Thursday morning, as opposition calls for her resignation and to dissolve parliament gained traction. Roads around the compound were closed due to reported demonstrations, according to Thai media.
Inside the Government House, Paetongtarn met with the defence minister and other officials to discuss a possible closure of the Thai-Cambodian border, according to local media reports. Operating hours at several crossings have already been reduced, and a complete closure risks inflaming an already tense situation.
In the leaked call on June 15, Paetongtarn acknowledged facing domestic pressure following a deadly border clash with Cambodia on May 28. She urged Hun Sen to disregard “the other side” in Thailand, referring to a vocal general commanding troops near the border.
Opposition Phalang Pracharath Party leader General Prawit Wongsuwan, a former deputy junta leader following Thailand’s 2014 coup, criticized Paetongtarn’s remarks, saying they “hurt the feelings of all Thais” and weakened the country’s position in border talks. He said his party stood firmly with the Thai people and military.
Tensions between the Shinawatra family and Thailand’s military-royalist establishment have defined the country’s political landscape for two decades.
Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father, was ousted in a 2006 coup and later convicted of corruption in absentia. His political movement, now led by the Pheu Thai Party, has repeatedly clashed with conservative elites who view the family’s populist influence as a threat to the traditional power structure.
“Every chance they get to weekend her government they seize. She just threw a lieutenant general under the bus, and that will not be forgotten,” said Zachary Abuza, Southeast Asia expert and professor at the National War College in Washington D.C. He added that he does not see the Thai Prime Minister surviving this leak.
“Even before this became public, the military and royalist elites were working assiduously to undermine the grand bargain that brought her father back from exile in August 2023.”
In the call, Hun Sen also urged the prime minister to restore normal operating hours at border crossings, after Thailand reduced hours at several points last week. Cambodia responded by closing an international crossing, halting imports of Thai vegetables and fruit, banning Thai films and boxing matches involving Thai fighters and cutting internet service connections with Thailand.
At a Wednesday press conference, Paetongtarn confirmed the recording was authentic, calling it a “backroom negotiation” that should never have been made public. She accused Hun Sen of leaking the call to boost his domestic popularity despite the diplomatic fallout.
“It’s now clear his real aim is to boost his popularity in his own country, regardless of the impact on international relations,” she said.
Hun Sen responded in a Facebook post, saying he shared the audio with about 80 Cambodian officials and suggested the leak may have come from “someone who disapproved of her,” despite having posted it himself.
Ties between the two political families have traditionally been close, with Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra seen as allies during their time as prime ministers – a relationship that drew criticism from nationalist and opposition groups in both countries.
Their children have since stepped into their former roles: Hun Sen handed power to his son, Hun Manet, in 2023, while Paetongtarn took over leadership of her father’s refashioned Pheu Thai Party last year.
“Hun Sen had a very close relationship with Thaksin Shinawatra, and both men profited from that relationship,” said Abuza. “But the Shinawatra clan offers him less than before, as Cambodia is a more developed place that is less dependent on Thai investment. Hun Sen’s priority is consolidating the reign of his son.”.
Hun Manet has largely remained silent on the fallout from his father’s posting of the conversation, only resharing the post on Facebook.
As tensions spill over into Thailand’s domestic politics, nationalist sentiment has surged on both sides of the border. In Cambodia, thousands marched in Phnom Penh on Wednesday in a show of support for the government’s handling of the ongoing border dispute with Thailand.
Chhum Socheat, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence, said the border situation remains tense, with troops maintaining heightened vigilance and keeping armed forces on full alert around the clock.
“I don’t think either side wants military escalation,” Abuza said. “There is very little to be gained from that.”
*This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. to note that the phone recording posted by Hun Sen bore watermarks from pro-government outlet Fresh News.
