6th JBC Meeting Concludes after Two Days of Open and Positive Dialogue

6th JBC Meeting Concludes after Two Days of Open and Positive Dialogue

AKP-Phnom Penh, June 15, 2025 –The 6th Meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) was wrapped up this afternoon with the signing of the meeting’s minutes, after two days of discussions on the agreed agenda.

“The meeting was held in a friendly and understanding atmosphere, in a spirit of open and positive dialogue,” said the State Secretariat of Border Affairs of Cambodia in a press release issued after the meeting.

According to the statement, the border disputes at Mom Bei area and the temple complexes of Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Tauch, and Ta Krabei were not part of the agenda.

During the session, H.E. Lam Chea, Minister in charge of the State Secretariat of Border Affairs and Chairman of the Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, informed his Thai counterpart that, in the interest of achieving a fair, impartial, and lasting resolution, Cambodia had proposed that the two countries jointly bring the disputes in these four sensitive areas before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He also reaffirmed Cambodia’s position to begin legal proceedings independently, despite Thailand’s rejection of the ICJ’s jurisdiction.

Furthermore, the Cambodian side made clear that, going forward, the four areas in question will no longer be included in discussions or negotiations under the JBC framework.

Aside from these four locations, H.E. Lam Chea reaffirmed Cambodia’s commitment and goodwill in continuing to cooperate with Thailand through the JBC mechanism to advance border surveying, demarcation, and the installation of boundary markers.

He reiterated the Royal Government of Cambodia’s adherence to pacifism and its aim to establish a border of peace, friendship, and cooperation with Thailand, based on legal documents and mutually agreed-upon maps outlined in the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This includes the use of 1:200,000 scale maps, in line with the spirit of the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907, for demarcation and marker placement.

“In this regard, the Cambodian side categorically rejects the map unilaterally drawn and used by the Thai side, which has been the root cause of past, present, and potential future border disputes,” he stressed.

Both sides agreed to reconvene for the next JBC meeting in September 2025.

By C. Nika