The Walls: A Foolish Sign of the Thai Invasion

Walls are as important as they are dangerous. Walls afford protection, security and they help separate people when there are legal, legitimate and necessary reasons justifying the barrier.

Walls are also not just built by brick, metal or concrete. They can be conceptual, abstract or metaphorical, and for all the excellent reasons stated above. Even though they often serve legitimate, necessary functions, they can also be misused and misunderstood as false architecture to legitimise otherwise illegal, unnecessary and harmful policies and behaviour.

The important distinction between these two categories is the simple fact that the power to create a wall does not make it legal, legitimate or necessary. Law, legitimacy and moral/practical necessity always must precede the wall.

This is where Thailand is making a mistake. The Thai military’s construction of their current border wall is not recognised under international law; it has no legitimacy amongst the peoples it divides; and in effect, it only serves the short-sighted interests of Thai elite who have manipulated Thai tensions with Cambodia to advance their political agenda.

The Thai military can build this wall, but history shows that walls that lack the foundations of law, legitimacy and moral/practical necessity will eventually crumble and fail.

Youk Chhang
Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
August 25, 2026