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Topped with looping barbed wire, a concrete fence stretches for a kilometer along the Thai-Cambodian border, punctuated only by marker stones erected during French colonial times. It marks the first stage of an 8.4-kilometre (5.2-mile) wall the Thai military is building in the east of the country, following last year's deadly clashes with its Southeast Asian neighbour.
Standing 3.6 meters tall and built from reinforced concrete, a mesh of galvanised steel and rolls of barbed wire, the barrier cuts through farmland in Chanthaburi province.
"We built the fence to prevent illegal activities," notably the smuggling of people and goods, Captain Prachya Hantiem, commander of the Royal Thai Navy Marine Task Force in Chanthaburi, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a visit on Thursday.
Thailand and Cambodia have clashed for decades over how their 800-kilometer border is demarcated, and deadly fighting erupted in July and then December last year. The two neighbours signed a ceasefire agreement in late December, though each accuses the other of truce violations.
A small Thai village sits near the fence, home to fewer than 200 people who grow corn and fruit, including durian and longan. Villagers say the structure has cut into farmland along the porous border, but those who spoke to AFP were broadly positive.
"We accept it, we accept losing some land in order to gain security," said Suwin Muangmeung, who runs a grocery store. She admitted she doesn't always know exactly where the border lies. "It gives us a sense of security in our daily lives, since our plantations are along the border," added village chief Itchira Aranchaiyasiri.
"We never really know when Thailand and Cambodia will reconcile, or when we'll be able to communicate with each other properly. But having this fence here helps." The wall would bring some disruption, he said: "In the past, we used to come and go freely, or visit each other quite easily." But he added: "We have to adapt".
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