Against the backdrop of Thai soldiers placing barricades in Banteay Meanchey’s Chok Chey village, a government spokesperson issued a statement today reaffirming Cambodia’s utmost efforts to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity through all available means.
Analysts suggest that Cambodia could file a complaint with the UN and urgently called for the establishment of an ASEAN monitoring team.
This morning, September 4, residents of Chok Chey, in Ou Chrov district’s O Bei Choan commune, successfully prevented Thai soldiers from installing razor wire on their land, and forced the soldiers to retreat. The villagers have now cut down their sugarcane crops to better monitor any renewed attempts by Thai soldiers to install barricades.
According to Thai media outlet The Nation, Thailand intends to seize land in the village which belongs to 135 households, where Cambodian citizens have lived for a long time. They also plan to take another 35 in nearby Prey Chan village. As the increasingly desperate civilians defend their homes, some social media users have questioned how long the government will tolerate Thai encroachment on Cambodian soil.
According to the government spokesperson, Thailand has been acting unilaterally in Chok Chey and Prey Chan since August 12, threatening the lives and livelihoods of Cambodians who have lived on the land for generations. The spokesperson stated that the government has employed all available mechanisms to protest the Thai incursions and has notified all relevant parties through diplomatic channels, in accordance with international law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has sent three protest notes to their Thai counterparts and raised the issue in various forums and with multiple international organisations, including the UN. It has also arranged visits and on-site inspections, inviting ambassadors, UN agencies in Cambodia and NGOs to Chok Chey and Prey Chan villages, as well as other areas which were affected by the armed clashes of late July.
Additionally, during the extraordinary meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee (GBC) and the Cambodia-Thailand Regional Border Committee (RBC), Cambodia emphasised territorial integrity protection. The State Secretariat for Border Affairs has issued three protest notes on behalf of the Joint Border Demarcation Committee (JBC) to their Thai counterparts, while Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities sent two protest letters to the authorities of the neighbouring Thai province of Sa Kaeo.
The government spokesperson noted that Cambodia has reported the issue to relevant UN agencies, adding that Prime Minister Hun Manet has raised the matter in meetings with key foreign leaders, while urging a peaceful resolution of the border issue in line with bilateral agreements, conventions, treaties and international law.
He discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping, UN secretary-general António Guterres and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the rotating ASEAN chair.
“The prime minister has requested intervention to ensure the effective and full implementation of the ceasefire through the necessary presence of a third-party monitoring mechanism, resolving the border issue peacefully based on international law, halting the expansion of disputed areas, illegal military occupation and the forced eviction of civilians from areas where they have long resided, to prevent provocative actions and avoid the severe risks of renewed armed conflict and dangerous confrontations,” said the statement.
Diplomatic efforts have also been made by Senate president Hun Sen, according to the same spokesperson.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told The Post that Thai soldiers have repeatedly violated the ceasefire, including by installing razor wire in Chok Chey and Prey Chan villages, while Cambodia has shown patience in adhering to the ceasefire spirit.
“We have respected the ceasefire, taking no actions that would allow Thai soldiers to act arbitrarily, including invading Cambodian territory, installing barbed wire and using machinery to clear land in Cambodia. This is because we want to maintain the ceasefire,” he said.
“We must continue adhering to the ceasefire, which is our desired goal. Secondly, I believe we should file a complaint with the UN Security Council to highlight the repeated violations of Cambodian territory by Thai soldiers and push for a complaint to the UN General Assembly, as well as urge the establishment of an ASEAN or UN Security Council monitoring mechanism as soon as possible,” he added.
He warned that if Cambodia does not act swiftly, Thailand will continue to violate the ceasefire and encroach on Cambodian territory, disregarding others and acting according to their whims.
