Sovereignty and Restraint: Cambodia’s Legal Stance on Disputed Territory Visits

A Thai national flag flies over the An Seh area as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul addresses Thai troops during his August 23 visit. Cambodia protested the visit as unauthorised, maintaining that the site lies within Choam Ksan district, Preah Vihear province. Supplied

Opinion

Any Thai official visiting sovereign Cambodian territory can be lawfully arrested and prosecuted under Cambodian law, for violating international law. Individuals bearing arms can also be confronted with deadly force in accordance with the relevant rules of force.

The Thai Prime Minister’s visit to the An She area of Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province is being conducted in concert with the Thai military forces who illegally occupy the area and are tasked with protecting the prime minister and his entourage. It is clearly not lost on Thai military commanders and government officials that Cambodian forces have unquestioned legal authority to use military force in all the ways so described.

Cambodia continues to exercise extraordinary restraint, knowing that diplomacy is the least costly, even if most inefficient, means of resolving the situation in a peaceful manner.

Youk Chhang
Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia

August 26, 2026

-Phnom Penh Post-