Thailand warned its conflict with neighboring Cambodia could “potentially develop into a war” as troops used rockets and artillery to shell targets along their contested border for a second

"The U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," a former senior U.S. State Department official told Newsweek.

Fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border has escalated, resulting in numerous casualties and mass displacement. China attributes the conflict's roots to historical Western colonialism, offering to mediate.