INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Thailand began imposing land border restrictions Monday including blocking tourists heading into Cambodia as the two countries engage in
retaliation in their border dispute.Relations between the countries have deteriorated following an armed confrontation May 28 in which one
Cambodian soldier was killed in a relatively small, contested territory
While the two sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute, they continue to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions
high.Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Monday that Thailand will boost screening at land borders and block departing tourists,
saying that only students, medical patients and others who need to purchase essential goods would be allowed to enter or leave Thailand.She
blocked.The Thai army said in a statement later Monday that it had implemented the measures at every land border checkpoint between Thailand
and Cambodia in five provinces, and that it was stopping all crossings except for people with essential needs.Cambodia, for its part, has
boycotted some Thai internet services, and blocked electricity and fuel supplies from Thailand in response to the border dispute
Prior to the boycott, Cambodia imported 30% of its gasoline and other fuel from Thailand.Paetongtarn also said Monday that Thailand will
consider blocking exports that could facilitate scam operations in Cambodia and will coordinate with other countries and international
agencies to crack down on cybercrime based in Southeast Asia.Thailand earlier this year implemented measures aimed at cracking down on
online scam operations in neighboring Myanmar, severing electricity, internet and gas supplies to border towns where the scams were
report named Cambodia as a hub for scam operations in which workers go online to lure victims through false romantic ploys, bogus investment
pitches and illegal gambling schemes.Paetongtarn has been attacked over her perceived soft stance toward Cambodia, especially by right-wing
nationalists who are longtime foes of her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.A phone call leaked last week between Paetongtarn
and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, the former prime minister who ruled Cambodia over four decades, sparked outrage and calls for
