Cambodia publishes open letter accusing Thailand of planned military aggression, urges international action
Thai troops have advanced into Cambodian territory, planted flags on Cambodian soil and launched attacks not only against military positions but also civilians, infrastructure, temples and historic Khmer monuments. Supplied
#National
Cambodia has issued an open letter to the international community accusing Thailand of carrying out “planned, acknowledged and deliberate” military aggression along Cambodia’s western border since December 7, 2025, and warning that silence or inaction risks undermining the credibility of the international legal order.
In the letter, Cambodia rejects any claim that the clashes were accidental or uncontrolled, asserting instead that Thailand has waged a coordinated war involving land, air and naval forces.
According to the document, Thai troops have advanced onto Cambodian territory, planted flags on Cambodian soil and launched attacks not only against military positions but also civilians, infrastructure, temples and historic Khmer monuments.
“Wherever the Thai army advances, it plants its flag on Cambodian soil,” the letter stated, adding that the assaults have affected homes, schools, pagodas, refugee camps and cultural heritage sites, including UNESCO World Heritage-listed monuments.
Cambodia’s government structured the letter around what it described as five fundamental truths, beginning with a firm rejection of any allegation that Cambodia initiated the conflict.
It argued that, as a smaller country in terms of territory and military capacity, Cambodia lacks both the intention and capability to attack a neighbour “three times more powerful”.
The letter points to Cambodia’s repeated calls for peaceful settlement of border disputes, including its acceptance of a ceasefire on July 28, 2025, and the Joint Declaration for Peace signed on October 26, 2025.
“Had Cambodia truly sought war,” the letter asks, “why would it have devoted such sustained efforts since 1998 to reconstruction, national reconciliation, and peacebuilding?”
On the legal front, Cambodia reaffirmed that its position is grounded in internationally recognised treaties and maps, notably the Franco-Siamese Treaties of 1904 and 1907 and the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding.
Thailand, the letter claims, relies instead on unilateral maps recognised only by itself, leaving “no basis” for accusations that Cambodia intended to violate Thai sovereignty.
The letter also contrasts Cambodia’s reliance on international law with what it calls Thailand’s preference for military force.
It recalls Cambodia’s past recourse to legal mechanisms during border disputes in 1954, 2008 and July 2025, and highlights rulings by the International Court of Justice in 1962 and 2013 affirming Cambodian sovereignty over Preah Vihear and surrounding areas.
“It would therefore be illogical and irrational for Cambodia to abandon the rule of law and embark on a war of aggression against Thailand,” the document states.
Emphasising the country’s historical trauma, Cambodia said its experience of two wars and a genocide between 1970 and 1998 has made peace and stability its top national priorities.
It cited international recognition of this commitment, including peace-related awards in 2021, 2024 and 2025, as further evidence that Cambodia has no incentive to jeopardise decades of recovery.
The most serious accusations were reserved for Thailand’s recent military operations. Cambodia alleges that since December 7, Thai authorities have publicly ordered large-scale offensives along more than 800 kilometres of the border, with incursions reaching 80 to 90 kilometres into Cambodian territory.
The operations, the letter claims, have involved F-16 and Gripen fighter jets, cluster munitions, armed drones, heavy artillery, long-range rockets, tanks and armoured vehicles, deployed in coordinated land, air and naval actions.
“These acts cannot be characterised as an exercise of the right of self-defence under international law,” the letter argues, calling them “a deliberate and manifest armed aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia”.
Concluding the appeal, Cambodia called on the international community to “name this aggression for what it is”, uphold international law and assume its responsibilities.
It warned that ambiguity or silence would embolden further violations and legitimise the use of force over the rule of law.
“What is at stake is not only Cambodia’s sovereignty,” the letter states, “but the very credibility of the international order founded on the rule of law.”
-The Phnom Penh Post-
