By bno - Ho Chi Minh Office The current flare-up between Thailand and Cambodia feels different from previous disputes. What initially appeared to be a limited skirmish over disputed borderland and nationalist rhetoric now carries the faint,

But the fiery bout in Southeast Asia also marks a test for Washington's waning influence in a region viewed as a crucial theater in a geopolitical competition between the United States and China. "This crisis represents a critical test of American and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia,

The Southeast Asian neighbors, which share a disputed 500-mile frontier, have long fought over the sovereignty of a 1,000-year-old temple.