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Thai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple government Thai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple government
(about 5 hours later)
In the phone call, Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra discusses a border dispute with former Cambodian leader and calls him ‘uncle’In the phone call, Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra discusses a border dispute with former Cambodian leader and calls him ‘uncle’
Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised on Thursday for a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that provoked widespread anger and threatened to break up her ruling coalition. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised after a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen prompted public anger and threatened the collapse of her government.
As pressure grew on Thursday, Paetongtarn apologised at a news conference alongside military chiefs and senior figures from her Pheu Thai party. In the leaked call, Paetongtarn – daughter of the populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – discusses an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who is known to be a friend of her family.
“I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment,” Paetongtarn told reporters. In the recording, she can be heard criticising a senior Thai military commander who she said “just wanted to look tough”, describing him as an opponent. Addressing Hun Sen as “uncle”, she adds that if there were anything he wanted to “just let me know, I’ll take care of it”.
In the leaked call, Paetongtarn was heard discussing an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who still holds significant power in Cambodia despite leaving office in 2023. His son, Hun Manet, is the current leader. Paetongtarn told a press conference on Thursday: “I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment.”
During their discussion Paetongtarn addresses the veteran leader as “uncle” and refers to the Thai army commander in the country’s northeast as her opponent, a remark that sparked fierce criticism on social media. Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for almost four decades, was succeeded by his son, Hun Manet, the current prime minister, in 2023, but remains politically powerful.
The Thai foreign ministry summoned the Cambodian ambassador on Thursday to deliver a letter complaining about the leaking of the call. Paetongtarn said her comments were a negotiating tactic, but this has done little to quell public anger.
After the leak, the prime minister’s main coalition partner quit and she faced calls to resign or hold an election, throwing the kingdom into a fresh round of political instability as it seeks to boost its spluttering economy and avoid US President Donald Trump’s swingeing trade tariffs. The Thai foreign ministry summoned the Cambodian ambassador on Thursday to deliver a protest letter complaining about the leaking of the call. The full version was released by Hun Sen after the initial clip was leaked.
The conservative Bhumjaithai party pulled out on Wednesday, saying Paetongtarn’s conduct in the leaked call had wounded the country and the army’s dignity. The phone call threw Paetongtarn’s government into chaos, threatening to destroy the uneasy partnership formed between her family and their former rivals in the military.
The Thai stock market fell 2.4% on Thursday as the crisis raged, but by the evening Paetongtarn, daughter of billionaire ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, appeared to have won a reprieve as another coalition party said it would not withdraw – for now at least. The conservative Bhumjaithai party – the second largest in the coalition – pulled out of the ruling coalition, leaving her government with a slim majority. Leaders of the Chartthaipattana, United Thai Nation and Democrat parties held urgent talks on the crisis on Thursday afternoon but have not withdrawn.
Leaders of the Chartthaipattana, United Thai Nation and Democrat parties held urgent talks on the crisis on Thursday afternoon. If another coalition partner were to pull out, it could make her position untenable and could force an election, or an attempt by other parties to cobble together a new coalition.
Afterwards, Chartthaipattana leader Varawut Silpa-archa told reporters his party would remain in government and meet Paetongtarn to decide what to do. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the opposition People’s Party, earlier called for Paetongtarn to dissolve parliament to prevent groups from exploiting the situation “and inciting an incident that could harm the democracy”, warning against a military coup.
Losing another coalition partner would probably mean the end of her government and either an election or a bid by other parties to stitch together a new coalition. Thailand’s government has been challenged by a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and for the past two decades the country’s politics has been dominated by a power struggle between the military and Paetongtarn’s family, the Shinawatras. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a 2006 coup, and her aunt Yingluck was removed from power by a court ruling followed by a coup in 2014.
The loss of Bhumjaithai’s 69 MPs left Paetongtarn with barely enough votes to scrape a majority in parliament and a snap election could be on the cards – barely two years after the last one in May 2023. Hundreds of anti-government protesters, some of them veterans of the royalist, anti-Thaksin “Yellow Shirt” movement of the late 2000s, demonstrated outside Government House on Thursday, demanding that Paetongtarn quit.
Thailand’s military said in a statement that army chief Gen Pana Claewplodtook “affirms commitment to democratic principles and national sovereignty protection”. Ken Lohatepanont, a Thai political analyst, said that “while a coup is no longer completely unthinkable” it did not appear likely yet, adding: “The democratic process has not yet reached an impasse.”
Thailand’s military said in a statement that army chief Gen Pana Claewplodtook “affirms commitment to democratic principles and national sovereignty protection”.
“The Chief of Army emphasised that the paramount imperative is for ‘Thai people to stand united’ in collectively defending national sovereignty,” it said.“The Chief of Army emphasised that the paramount imperative is for ‘Thai people to stand united’ in collectively defending national sovereignty,” it said.
Thailand’s armed forces have long played a powerful role in the kingdom’s politics and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them. Paetongtarn, who has been in office less than a year, is also facing legal threats. At least three petitions have been filed against the leader over the leaked call, including to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, accusing her of ethical misconduct and violating the constitution, and to the Central Investigation Bureau, accusing her of offences against national security. The Election Commission has also been urged to investigate.
Thailand has suffered a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and the current crisis has inevitably triggered rumours that another may be in the offing. The crisis comes at a time when the Thai economy is struggling, with a fall in Chinese visitors hitting its tourism industry, and the threat of US tariffs of 36% looming.
Such an outcome would make Paetongtarn the third member of her family, after her aunt Yingluck and father Thaksin, to be kicked out of office by the military. Paetongtarn has not responded to calls for her to resign, but has sought to convince the public that her government stands united with the military as it responds to the dispute with Cambodia.
The main opposition People’s Party, which won the most seats in 2023 but was blocked by conservative senators from forming a government, urged Paetongtarn to call an election. “Now, we have no time to fight among ourselves. We must defend our sovereignty, and the government is ready to support the armed forces by all means. We will work together,” she said.
The Palang Pracharath party, which led the government up to 2023, said the leaked recording showed Paetongtarn was weak and inexperienced, incapable of managing the country’s security. On Friday, Paetongtarn will travel to Thailand’s northeast, where clashes have occurred, to meet with Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, the commander of the forces in northeast Thailand, whom she criticised in the call.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters, some of them veterans of the royalist, anti-Thaksin “Yellow Shirt” movement of the late 2000s, demonstrated outside Government House on Thursday demanding that Paetongtarn quit. With Agence France-Presse
Paetongtarn, 38, came to power in August 2024 at the head of an uneasy coalition between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the past 20 years battling against her father.