Thailand has earned one of the most unusual distinctions, by starting a war while serving as host of the SEA Games.
It is now facing criticism for the poor organisation of this major ASEAN event while also using extremist political movements inside the country to pressure Cambodian athletes — ultimately forcing Cambodia to withdraw halfway through the event due to serious safety concerns.
Vath Chamroeun, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), who returned from Thailand on the evening of December 11, declared that Thailand’s act of launching military aggression against Cambodia during the 33rd SEA Games 2025 runs against the principles of the international Olympic movement. He stressed that no country in the world has ever done what Thailand has done.
“In terms of political conduct, we see that any host country must uphold the Olympic philosophy, which teaches that sports bring peace. But Thailand, even knowing it is hosting the SEA Games, still chooses war — they love war,” he told the media, at Techo International Airport.
“When the opening ceremony is near, they start a war first. What does that mean? It is wrong. No host country in the world has ever acted against Olympic principles like Thailand. The Olympic principle is that before the games begin, war must stop,” he added.
He explained that traditionally, even in ancient times, kings and leaders would declare a halt to conflicts before competitions, urging all sides to seek peace through sport.
“Thailand is doing the opposite, going against international Olympic norms,” Chamroeun noted.
Host country’s actions contradict role
Despite this, Chamroeun acknowledged that the Thai SEA Games Organizing Committee (THASOC) and the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) fulfilled their formal hosting duties quite well in terms of hospitality and sports protocol — but the Thai government and military simultaneously attacked Cambodia’s territory.
“The sports hosts welcomed us well and organised things properly. But the territorial host — the country’s power holders — attacked our home. How could we continue competing after they burned our homes and bombed our territory?” he asked.
He admitted that this situation has sparked public debate about why Cambodia still decided to send athletes despite knowing that the Thai military had ambitions to violate Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
“We had already considered all scenarios and followed direct instructions from the prime minister. Every step was part of a planned strategy. We needed to participate first, fulfil our duties and then withdraw when necessary. ASEAN countries respected our decision to withdraw,” he said.
He added that ASEAN friends and many athletes from other countries urged Cambodia to return home out of fear that Cambodian participants might face danger — even the possibility of being held hostage.
“This is now part of SEA Games history — the first time a country attended the opening ceremony but later withdrew,” he noted.
Apology to athletes, calls for public support
Chamroeun expressed deep regret and apologised to the Cambodian athletes who trained for nearly two years, sacrificing time and effort, only to miss the competition. But he stressed that Cambodia must follow the government’s decision because the situation made it impossible to continue safely.
He also urged the Cambodian public to encourage and support the athletes, who bravely travelled to Thailand to represent the nation but were pressured due to Thai political extremism and misunderstandings of sports principles.
He also offered criticism of some Thai sports officials and the Thai Boxing Association.
“Their leaders behave like parliamentarians but fail to understand sports justice. Their internal system lacks accountability, and they placed pressure on us. We cannot accept that,” he said.
Criticism of Thailand’s SEA Games organisation
Chamroeun also criticised Thailand’s organization of the 33rd SEA Games, especially the December 9 opening ceremony, citing numerous technical errors and poor visual presentations — nothing comparable to the well-organised 32nd SEA Games that Cambodia hosted in 2023.
“For such a big SEA Games, they didn’t even conduct proper rehearsals. And importantly, we hear they lacked money. All the staff came to apologise and said funds were short. Anyone who saw the opening ceremony could see clearly that it cannot be compared to Cambodia’s SEA Games,” he added.
