Cambodia and Thailand engaged in five days of deadly fighting in July and tensions remain high two months later, but images and clips shared online alongside claims it shows “Cambodian troops mobilising” were not taken near the border between the two neighbours. Visual clues seen in the circulating images show it was actually taken in Myanmar.
“This time Cambodia deployed many troops near the border 23/09/2025,” reads a Thai-language Facebook post on September 23, 2025.
It features a photo showing military personnel in pickup trucks traveling down a road.
Screenshot of the false TikTok post, taken on September 26, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
Other posts sharing similar photos and claims also appear on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Threads.
The Southeast Asian neighbours have traded accusations of ceasefire violations since they agreed to a truce on July 29, ending five days of deadly clashes that killed at least 43 people on both sides (archived link).
Thailand has accused Cambodia of mobilizing troops and weapons, while Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense rejected the allegations (archived links here and here).
Cambodian and Thai troops clashed on September 27, marking the first exchange of gunfire and grenades since the July truce. Both sides accused the other of initiating the attack (archived link).
AFP also found a similar video of soldiers being driven on the back of a pickup truck shared on TikTok since July 18, 2025 with an Indonesian-language caption saying that it shows a “Filipino military patrol”.
Screenshot of the false TikTok post, taken on September 26, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
However, the images are not related to either Cambodia or the Philippines.
Although reverse image and keyword searches did not find a source for the image or the video, they contain multiple visual clues indicating it was shot in Myanmar.
The pickup in the image carries a license plate consistent with those used in Myanmar (archived link).
Screenshot comparison between the video, with car license plate magnified by AFP (L) and Myanmar car license plates on worldlicenseplates.com
Meanwhile, the video shows Burmese and Chinese-language text on road signs.
Screenshot of the video that shows Burmese- and Chinese-language road signs
The people in the video can be seen wearing patches bearing the Myanmar national flag and the flag of the Karen National Union (KNU) — an armed ethnic group (archived links here and here).
The footage also shows a red-and-gold roundabout monument, which bears Burmese-language text reading, “Welcome to Shwe Kokko Myaing, Myawaddy province”.
Shwe Kokko, a border town in eastern Myanmar, gained notoriety after becoming a hub for organized crime and cyber scam operations. Largely outside the control of Myanmar’s central authorities, the town has seen extensive Chinese-backed development (archived link).
Authorities and militia groups have made a show of raiding the centres, linked to drug smuggling and gambling, before releasing and repatriating the foreigners inside (archived link).
Screenshot of the video that shows the roundabout monument with Burmese text
The roundabout and other structures seen in the video can be found on Google Maps satellite imagery of Shwe Kokko (archived link).
Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared video (left and center) and the Google Maps’ satellite imagery (right), with elements made by AFP to highlight corresponding components
AFP previously debunked other misinformation linked to the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
