"The U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," a former senior U.S. State Department official told Newsweek.

Thailand warned its conflict with neighboring Cambodia could “potentially develop into a war” as troops used rockets and artillery to shell targets along their contested border for a second

Of course, trouble at the 508-mile (817 km) shared border is nothing new. For over a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points in the thick jungle punctuated with culturally-significant temples albeit with scant strategic or economic value.