Cambodia files protest over Thai military activity on its territory

Photo: - A section of the O’Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province sealed off by the Thai military. Oddar Meanchey Provincial Administration

#National

Synopsis: Phnom Penh maintains Thailand’s actions violate agreements and international law, calling on its neighbour to halt all actions while pledging its commitment to peaceful dispute resolution.

Cambodia has lodged another formal protest against continued acts of encroachment and unlawful occupation of land by the Thai military, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said.

According to the ministry, the encroachment and unlawful occupation occurred after the December 27, 2025 ceasefire at multiple locations along the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Prime Minister Hun Manet has said that Thai forces are illegally occupying Cambodian territory and asserted that the country will never recognise any alteration of its border through force.

Thai forces have been conducting land-clearing activities, constructing roads and permanent structures, and erecting Buddha statues with the help of Thai monks in areas including Ta Thav, Phnom Troap and An Seh in Preah Vihear province, as well as O’Smach and Khnar Temple Complex in Oddar Meanchey province.

In the area southeast of Ta Moan Thom Temple, Oddar Meanchey province, Thai armed forces have used heavy machinery to excavate land and build a new concrete bunker.

In the Mom Bei area, Preah Vihear province, around Hill 469, Thai armed forces have conducted land-clearing activities and constructed roads and other permanent structures, including a Buddha statue.

In Thmar Daun village, Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meanchey province, Thai armed forces have cleared land and constructed roads and other permanent structures in the western part of the Domnak Sdach area.

In the An Seh area, Preah Vihear province, Thai armed forces have done the same and flown Thai flags. Similar activities were observed in multiple locations, including around the An Seh International Point of Entry, O Phka Snae, Hill 677 and Hill 500, where Thailand’s military, together with Thai monks, have built a Buddha statue.

In the Ta Thav area, Preah Vihear province, Thai armed forces have cleared land and builr roads and other permanent concrete structures on Cambodia’s sovereign territory, including around Daun Ton Temple, Hill 505, Hill 333 and the Ta Thav Point of Entry area.

In the Ta Sem and Chak Chreng areas, Preah Vihear province, Thai armed forces have conducted land-clearing activities and build roads and other permanent structures.

Thai forces, with the support of Thai monks, have also constructed Buddha statues in various locations within Cambodian territory, including in the Ta Thav and Phnom Trap areas of Preah Vihear province, as well as in the O’Smach and Khnar Temple Complex areas of Oddar Meanchey province.

The ministry said that these areas lie entirely within Cambodia’s sovereign territory, as defined by 1:200,000-scale maps under the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907.

Officials said the activities violate the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary, as well as de-escalation measures agreed at the 3rd Special Meeting of the General Border Committee in December 2025.

“Cambodia calls upon Thailand to immediately cease the activities conducted in the above-mentioned areas or in any other area under similar circumstances, refrain from any further unilateral actions in the above area, and ensure the full and good-faith implementation of all agreements and arrangements between the two countries, with a view to de-escalating the situation, fostering mutual trust and confidence, and preserving peace, stability and good neighbourliness along the Cambodia-Thailand border,” the ministry said.

The government reiterated its commitment to resolving all boundary disputes with Thailand peacefully, in accordance with international law and bilateral agreements, while maintaining that borderlines must not be changed by force.

-Khmer Times-
—————-