A 24-hour burst of rockets and artillery on the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict has done more than kill civilians and send 100,000 people fleeing; it has set off a diplomatic sprint that pits China’s offer of “impartial” mediation against a U.S. treaty ally’s insistence on going it alone.
The latest crisis began with a landmine explosion in a disputed border area, wounding five Thai soldiers. Thai authorities accused Cambodia of laying new mines, a charge Phnom Penh denied, citing possible remnants from past conflicts.
