New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- In a dramatic escalation that has reverberated across Southeast Asia, Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian positions along their disputed Thailand-Cambodia border on Monday, shattering a fragile peace brokered just months earlier by US President Donald Trump. The Thai military confirmed the strikes came hours after a deadly clashes that killed one Thai soldier and wounded several others, reigniting a long-simmering territorial feud over the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex. As smoke rose over the rugged frontier and thousands of civilians fled their homes, the incident exposed the brittleness of diplomatic gains achieved under the shadow of Washington's influence.

The border, a jagged line etched through dens...