When the Invader Speaks of Virtue
Photo: A large screen broadcasts videos into the Cambodian village of Prey Chan, from behind a Thai barricade. AKP
-Opinion-
Thailand is performing a paradox on the world stage — invading its neighbour while preaching morality. As Thai soldiers lay razor wire across Cambodian soil and influencers spread hatred online, Bangkok continues to claim the language of virtue and humanitarian concern. The louder Thailand speaks of righteousness, the clearer its hypocrisy becomes.
Despite the July 28 ceasefire agreement initiated by US President Donald Trump, Thai troops have repeatedly violated the peace, encroaching upon Cambodian villages such as Prey Chan and Chouk Chey. Homes and farmlands have been damaged, and families who have lived on their land for generations now face intimidation.
Thailand’s aggression has turned psychological. At night, Thai forces blast ghostly screams and eerie sounds across the border, tormenting Cambodian civilians. These are not pranks — they are deliberate acts of psychological warfare, a form of intimidation banned under international humanitarian law.
Adding insult to injury, a Thai social media influencer, protected by the authorities, has mocked and threatened Cambodians — from suggesting the use of human waste to deploying sound attacks. Such behaviour reveals how the Thai government and army have allowed social media personalities to act as unofficial extensions of state policy. This toxic combination of militarism and populism has turned online hate into real-world hostility.
Worse still, the Thai army now seeks to rewrite history. It portrays itself as a “protector” of Cambodian refugees during the 1980s and 1990s, holding ceremonies at former camps such as Khao I Dang and Site 2 to celebrate its supposed humanitarian legacy. The truth is very different. Those camps were built and operated by the UN, the UNHCR and humanitarian organisations — not the Thai army.
It was the UN, the World Food Programme, and countless NGOs that fed, healed and sheltered Cambodian refugees. Thailand merely hosted those camps and profited from the international aid that flowed through them. To now claim moral credit for that era is a distortion of history — a political manipulation that dishonours the real humanitarian workers and the Cambodian refugees who suffered there.
Today’s Thailand repeats that same hypocrisy: preaching peace while provoking its neighbour, and claiming virtue while practicing intimidation. Such behaviour violates ASEAN’s principles of sovereignty, non-interference and peaceful dispute resolution.
Cambodia, for its part, has responded with patience and restraint, but patience must not be mistaken for weakness. Cambodia will defend its people, its territory and its dignity — peacefully but firmly.
The international community, especially the UN and human rights organisations, must not remain silent. The use of psychological warfare against civilians and the distortion of humanitarian history must be condemned.
True morality is not found in speeches or ceremonies — it is found in actions. And when the invader speaks of virtue, the world should remember who truly stood for humanity and who stood for hypocrisy.
Roth Santepheap is a geopolitical analyst based in Phnom Penh. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
-The Phnom Penh Post-
