Cambodia and Thailand were unable to come to terms and sign the documents required to plan the next Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting, reportedly due to disagreements on several key points. The impasse arrives after three days of discussions between the two Kingdom’s respective secretariat teams, according to the Ministry of National Defence.
Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata said today, January 29, that the meeting, between Cambodia’s 5th Military Region and the Thai 1st Army Area, had concluded. She did not provide details of which points the two sides were unable to disagree on.
The meeting, which ran from January 27 until this morning, was held at the Poipet International Border Checkpoint in Banteay Meanchey province, opposite Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province.
The Cambodian delegation was led by Major General Sor Kimpak, chief of the Cambodian Secretariat (RBC), while the Thai delegation was led by Major General Pittayakul Posuwan, chief of the Thai Secretariat (RBC). The meeting was monitored by the ASEAN Observer Teams (AOT) of Cambodia and Thailand.
“Since both parties have not yet found a middle ground, the two sides agreed to step back and return to their respective headquarters to continue exchanging documents and discussing until a consensus is reached in the future. Only then will arrangements be made for a signing ceremony and an RBC meeting,” said Socheata.
An RBC special meeting is a regional military-level forum that predominantly discusses military affairs specific to each area. The latest round of discussions were based on the spirit of the Joint Statement of the 3rd Special Meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) between the two countries on December 27, 2025, when a ceasefire was declared, ending the latest round of armed clashes.
Socheata noted that the GBC meeting outcome required both parties to strive to reduce tensions along the border, as well as to seek practical cooperation aimed at promoting peace and stability between the two countries, achieving a rapid return to normalcy.
