Southeast Asian ethnicities are not easy to distinguish from one another at first glance.
While debatable, it is undeniable that Thais, Cambodians, Burmese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Loatians, Bruneians and Singaporeans are not far apart in terms of looks.
It is for this reason that Myanmar nationals in Thailand have taken the brunt of mistaken identity, as a cascading effect of the recent Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, and amid rising emotions among Thai patriots.
Sai Net Market incident
At the height of tensions between the two neighbours, two Myanmar workers were physically assaulted at the Sai Net Market in Bangkok after being mistaken as Cambodians.
In a CCTV footage uploaded on Facebook on July 24, a group of Thai men were seen approaching two Myanmar men who were buying food from one of the stalls inside the market.
One man from the group spoke to the pair, asking where they were from.
Before any of them could respond, another man from the Thai group punched one of the two in the face, causing him to crouch down.
Afterwards, a third man gripped the shirt of the victim’s companion, and aggressively asked what their nationalities were.
When the victims identified themselves as Myanmar nationals, the man was heard saying, “OK, not Cambodian, right?” before walking away with the rest of the group.
According to the caption of the post, the two Myanmar nationals were working as plumbers in Thailand.
Their employer has reportedly assisted them in filing a police report following the assault.
The incident came just hours after fresh fighting broke out along the disputed Thailand-Cambodia border, which escalated into the worst armed conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbours in decades – until a fragile truce deal was reached this week.
The conflict began after the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish in late May.
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Thai patriots on the hunt
Speaking with Eleven Media on July 25, a Myanmar worker in Bangkok said Thais were looking for Cambodian workers in large groups, often approaching Myanmar nationals to confirm their ethnicities.
“If they were Cambodians, they wouldn’t say anything. (The Thais) would beat them,” the source was quoted as saying.
In one case, a Myanmar man was reportedly beaten up when he told the Thais that he was from “Karen,” and it was mistakenly heard as “Khmer,” the ethnic people of Cambodia.
In a video clip circulating online, some Thais approached three Myanmar nationals who were eating and talking at a local restaurant to ask their nationalities.
When they answered “Myanmar,” they calmly left without any violence, reports Eleven Media.
In an advisory posted on Facebook last week, the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok has urged caution among its citizens, alerting them to the heightened security risks along the embattled frontier, telling those residing near the area to “move safely.”
It also warned the citizens against travelling to the border area in concern “to prevent any unwanted incidents.”
“We remind you to be aware of your safety,” reads the embassy’s post.
A fragile ceasefire agreement
The border situation between Cambodia and Thailand seemingly subsided on Tuesday, after the leaders of the two nations agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” brokered by Malaysia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
However, it was not long until Bangkok accused Phnom Penh of breaching the truce along the disputed border.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thai troops in northeastern Sisaket province “came under attack by small arms fire and grenade assaults launched by Cambodian forces” in an offensive which continued until early Wednesday.
“This represents a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” reads the ministry’s statement, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
In a separate statement, Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab said “the Thai side maintained control of the situation” and “general conditions along the border are reported to be normal” from 8am.
The clashes have killed a total of 43 on both sides, and displaced more than 300,000 people from the border region.
KC Maderia 
Kamille Q. Cabreza 
John Christopher Aquino