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Let me be clear, there is no treasure chest to be won here. The land in dispute has little intrinsic value. The most sensitive issue is the ownership of relatively small pieces of land that contain the ruins of two Hindu temples. I am sure I am not the only person to wonder what the priests who served the temples would think of their ruins being the centrepiece of armed conflict.

The broader issue is that, in today’s world, we increasingly face problems that can only be solved through collective action. This was not so true even a few decades ago. Then, South Korea, Taiwan, or Singapore could, with the right mix of policies, invite investors to build manufacturing or assembly centres that would produce consumer goods for Western markets, paying good wages. Factory Asia required considerable work on the part of the governments, but not necessarily the cooperation of their neighbours.

Today, there is still room to join Factory Asia; however, emerging problems will make development harder, problems that require worldwide, coordinated action. Climate change is one such challenge. Without a collective shift in our behaviour and a globally coordinated effort, we will continue to suffer from heatwaves, more intense storms, and higher sea levels, which will degrade seaports and coastal agricultural areas. We will only turn back this present danger if we have global cooperation on an unprecedented scale. Conflict of the type seen at the border of Cambodia and Thailand will inhibit public collaboration between the two countries, weakening Southeast Asia’s voice in any global effort.

Climate change is only one of the problems we face that requires an international effort to solve. Across Southeast Asia, fish stocks are collapsing. This imperils the food security of many people in the region. But, as is often said, fish do not need passports; they travel from one part of the oceans to another, and without a general agreement to reduce overfishing, the stocks will not recover. Hostile relations between any of the countries in Southeast Asia will make any effort to address this much harder.

I’m sure every reader has a list of problems they worry about, such as a new pandemic. Some of these will demand a coordinated multi-country effort. It is possible to have this. In an earlier dustup between Cambodia and Thailand, in 2009, as a Director for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), I was privileged to chair a meeting in Bangkok of the transport sector of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) programme. This initiative brings together the governments of mainland Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand, as well as China, which participates through Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

These governments have come together to jointly plan and carry out cross-border projects that enhance the potential for sustainable development. Transportation is a key element, especially for the interior areas of these countries. Without access to the coast, the people of these areas are unable to participate in the international trade that has driven regional development. Cross-border road systems enable trucks to transport goods from factories to ports in neighbouring countries. At the local level, improved roads ease travel to markets, schools, and health facilities.

At the time of the Bangkok meeting, the GMS had mobilised roughly 10 billion (324.7 billion baht) to fund transportation projects. The government officials had gathered to consider how to move forward in the sector. As the teams reviewed project proposals, news arrived of a fight at the border between Cambodia and Thailand. We understood that at least one person had died and many were injured.

I watched as the teams agonised over whether they could continue collaborating. Fairly quickly, however, the decision was made by all to continue. It was explained to me that, although the relationship between the two countries was strained, the officials at our meeting had been tasked with working together. They understood that the quality of life and the livelihoods of literally millions of people in the region depended on improved transport, something that could not occur without meaningful collaboration.

This decision required political courage, and I don’t know if even the most dedicated official could have sustained that position if the effort had needed more than a few days and had been more in the public eye. Unfortunately, the problems that face the countries of Southeast Asia, indeed the problems that face the global community, will require both sustained and very public cooperation. The ceasefire in place is welcome, but it should be viewed as a first step towards building a relationship that will enable Cambodia and Thailand to collaborate meaningfully in addressing the broader problems that face us.

David Jay Green is an economist who worked for more than two decades with the Asian Development Bank, retiring as the Director, Regional Cooperation and Integration Group, Southeast Asia Dept.