Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's coalition government is on the brink of collapse after a phone call between her and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about a festering border dispute was leaked.
According to BBC, the leak provoked public anger and prompted a key coalition partner of the 38-year-old Paetongtarn's Peu Thai party to quit.
In the call, she addressed Hun Sen, a family friend and senior politician in the South East Asian region, as "uncle" and appeared to dismiss a Thai military commander.
"I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment," Paetongtarn said on Thursday, as the pressure on her intensified.
Bhumjaithai, the second-largest party in Paetongtarn's ruling coalition, quit the alliance on Wednesday, dealing a major blow to her party's position in parliament.
Her coalition now holds a slim majority - which will be lost if more of its partners decide to leave. Two other coalition partners will meet later on Thursday to discuss the situation.
Critics took issue with the PM's apparent deference to Hun Sen when she addressed him as "uncle" and promised to "take care" of his needs.
They also accused her of undermining the country's politically influential army. She had told Hun Sen in the call that a Thai military commander handling the most recent flare-up of border tensions "just wanted to look cool and said things that are not useful".
The Shinawatras' friendship with Cambodia's Hun family goes back decades. Hun Sen and Paetongtarn's father, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, consider each other "godbrothers".
The Thai leader defended the call as a "negotiation technique" but opposition figures have called on her to resign.
