The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has responded to claims by their Thai counterparts regarding allegations of a 40mm grenade explosion that occurred on the border ten days ago. The Thais have referred to the alleged incident as justification for delaying a meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting, as the border situation remains a stalemate.
The “incident” did not take place, according to the military liaisons of both sides.
A ministry statement published on social media today, March 13, responded to a March 11 press release from the Thais which referred to a February 24 explosion.
The Thai release, titled “Thailand underlines need for Cambodia’s good-faith cooperation and sincerity in advancing the Survey and Demarcation of the Land Boundary between the two countries”, claimed that a grenade was fired by Cambodian forces, a breach of the December 27 ceasefire.
The Cambodian statement clarified that the reported incident did not occur, as explained in a February 24 diplomatic note which detailed how the absence of the claimed incident was promptly and jointly verified by the regional military liaison teams of both sides.
“Such incorrect reporting should not be further circulated,” the ministry said, citing the December 27 joint statement.
Thailand also claimed that Cambodia had constructed a market and Ta Om Equestrian Monument on land encroaching the Thai side of the watershed in the area of the An Mah-An Ses point of entry, and also constructed an administrative building within Thailand’s sovereign territory in Ta Phraya district, Sa Kaeo province.
The Cambodian side responded by explaining that the statue is located entirely within Cambodian territory as defined and delimited by the 1:200,000-scale map produced by the Franco-Siamese mixed Commission pursuant to the 1904 Convention and the 1907 Treaty.
“Any claim based on Thailand’s unilaterally drawn L70ll map is therefore legally untenable. In this regard, reference should also be made to the results of the joint detailed survey conducted by the Joint Survey Team (JST) of both countries in September 2015,” the ministry said.
The Thai side also said they have “taken note” of a Cambodian proposal to convene a JBC meeting and “will respond in due course following the formation of the new Cabinet”, adding that danger is still posed to the Joint Survey Team.
The Cambodian foreign ministry highlighted that the Cambodian JBC has sent five consecutive invitations to its Thai counterparts to resume the technical work of the Joint Survey Team at the earliest opportunity.
“This is intended to reinforce good faith efforts to expedite demarcation work, particularly in prioritised or sensitive areas,” it said.
While stressing commitment to peaceful solution to the border issues, the Cambodian side also noted that “Cambodia hopes to see good-faith cooperation reflected through concrete actions on the ground”.
