Video from Malaysian airshow in 2023 falsely linked to Cambodia-Thailand clash

Published on August 12, 2025 at 06:35
3 min read
By Alysha BIBI, Najmi Mamat, AFP Hong Kong, AFP Malaysia

Bangkok has rejected "baseless" accusations from Cambodia that it used chemical weapons during the Southeast Asian neighbours' worst military conflict in more than a decade. However, social media users have falsely claimed an old video of jets releasing coloured smoke shows the Thai army deploying lethal gases over Cambodia. The clip was in fact taken in Malaysia's Langkawi during an international airshow.

"Thailand used toxic fumes on its territory. Cambodia has severely affected the lives of Cambodian citizens. This is a genocide against humanity and a violation of international law," reads text over a TikTok video shared on July 28, 2025.

The caption repeats the same claim, crediting it to Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense.

The five second video was viewed more than 3,600 times and shows three jets releasing red and blue smoke mid-flight.

Screenshot of the falsely shared clip, with a red X added by AFP

The video surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and X ahead of a truce between Thailand and Cambodia on July 29 that halted five-days of military clashes, triggered by a long-standing dispute over their 800-kilometre (500 mile) border (archived link).

At least 43 people were killed on both sides and over 300,000 were driven from their homes.

Prior to peace talks on July 27, Cambodia accused Thailand of using chemical weapons against its citizens, a claim Bangkok has denied and called "baseless" (archived links here and here).

The circulating video, meanwhile, is unrelated to the conflict -- it was taken during a Malaysian airshow in 2023 and shared online in May 2025.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the false post found a longer, uncropped version of the video on TikTok on May 24, 2025, captioned "#limalangkawi" (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the original TikTok video (right)

The user, who goes by @zainalabidinhassanal, told AFP on August 6 that the video was taken during the biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in 2023.

The event takes place at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre next to Langkawi International Airport, located in an archipelago off the northern coast of Malaysia.

The same user posted another video from the airshow on May 23, 2025, which features scenes corresponding to Google Maps Street View imagery of the exhibition centre (archived links here and here).

Screenshot comparisons of the May 23 video (left) and Google Street View imagery (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

AFP has also debunked other misinformation related to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

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