UNESCO has not considered the Thai accusation that the Preah Vihear temple site was being used by Cambodia as a military base. Nevertheless, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reiterated on February 27 that the Preah Vihear temple site has never been employed for military purposes. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow shared the accusations with UNESCO director-general Khaled El-Enany this week, suggesting that Cambodia used the World Heritage site for military purposes. However, this accusation was vehemently denied by the Cambodian foreign ministry, with a ministry spokesperson stating the temple is a sacred cultural and religious monument. …
Author: Niem Chheng
Although space technology may have not been officially introduced into the Kingdom’s standard syllabus, the topic is taking centre stage at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC), at the 2nd Session of the NPIC SCT Event: QO-100 and LEO Satellite Training, igniting a passion for space communication among students. The training, from February 26 to March 3, is transforming the campus into a hub of innovation. Building on their past success of a 12,076-kilometre transmission to Antarctica via the QO-100 satellite, this year’s training elevates the challenge by focusing on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. Students are expected to…
French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, has reiterated that France is prepared to grant access to both Cambodia and Thailand to the archives in its possession related to the border demarcation. The commitment was restated during Barrot’s February 25 meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn during the latter’s working trip to Europe and the UN. The French foreign ministry announced on February 26 that Barrot had reaffirmed France’s commitment to regional stability and emphasised the importance of the implementation of the December 27 ceasefire agreement, which has held since it came into effect. Barrot said political…
A joint police force arrested 21 suspects for cyber fraud during a February 25 raid on an online scam operation located in Ou Baek K’am commune, in the capital’s Sen Sok district. The Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Technology Crimes (CCTC) stated that the 21 arrested suspects include 16 Chinese, 1 Indian, 2 Pakistani and 2 Nepalese nationals. The suspects and seized evidence have been transferred to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police for legal proceedings, while the authorities are reportedly conducting an investigation to identify the ringleaders behind the operation. Since mid-2025 Cambodia has been focused on combating online…
Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, has informed the UN Human Rights Council that combatting scams should not be used as a pretext for “masked acts of aggression and occupation”. He was referring to Thai claims that the initial factor driving the launch of military aggression on Cambodia, was a “war against the scam army”. Addressing the council in Geneva, Switzerland on February 24, Sokhonn noted that Cambodia is stepping up actions to combat transnational crimes, particularly online scams and human trafficking. “Online scams are a worldwide problem that affects people beyond their borders. A national task…
Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth launched the SCALE+ project, “Building Climate Resilience of Communities in Cambodia’s Protected Landscapes through Biodiversity-Friendly Crop–Livestock Systems”, on February 25. It aims to strengthen the climate resilience of communities, ecosystems and livelihoods across Cambodia’s protected landscapes while promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resource management. The $9 million project will run until November 2030, contributing to Cambodia’s climate adaptation priorities. It will benefit over 84,000 people, at least 50 per cent of them women, while restoring 92,000 hectares of community-protected areas and rehabilitating 2,000 hectares of degraded land, strengthening sustainable land management and building resilient livelihoods,…
Cambodia has launched its 11th anti-drug campaign, against the backdrop of increasing global drug trafficking. In 2025, the Kingdom seized 5.89 tonnes of illicit drugs and approximately 42.81 tonnes of precursor chemicals. In an outline of the new campaign, released today, February 25, Prime Minister Hun Manet noted that throughout 2025, the global trend of drug-related crimes remained complex, was continually evolving and grew at an alarming rate. This was particularly evident in the changing forms and methods of production, processing, trafficking, transit routes and the geographic expansion of drug use. Cambodia has also suffered negative consequences from this trend,…
South Korea is planning to increase support for skills development among the Cambodian workforce to prepare them for future employment in Korea, even as the 2026 quota for Cambodian workers is expected to decrease slightly, due to global conditions. In a February 23 interview with The Post, Kim Chang Yong, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Cambodia, explained the situation. “Every year, South Korea receives about 10,000 workers from Cambodia. However, as countries worldwide are suffering the impacts of the global crisis, the information I have received suggests that the number of Cambodian workers to Korea may decrease slightly. …
The Cambodian Ministry of National Defence has rejected reports published by Thai military social media accounts and several Thai media outlets claiming that Cambodian troops fired a single 40mm grenade near a Thai patrol. The Thai media published reports today alleging that on the morning of February 24, the firing occurred opposite the geographic area of Kaol Prambei (Pillar 8), Chak Chreng, in Preah Vihear province. Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata categorically denied the accusation and called on Thai figures to stop publishing false information that could cause misunderstandings and escalate tensions. “According to information received from Military Region 4 of…
The Cambodian side of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) has vehement protested the illegal occupation of Cambodian territory by the Thai military. This includes ongoing violations of Cambodian sovereignty through flying drones, laying barbed wire, placing shipping containers, planting Thai flags, digging canals, building roads and trenches, and renaming National Road 58. According to a press release issued today by the State Secretariat for Border Affairs (SSBA), the Thais have also altered the border environment in the areas of Tamone and Preah Vihear temples, bulldozed and destroyed the homes and properties of Cambodian citizens, and prohibited Cambodians from returning to…