Cambodia Lodges Formal Protest Against Thai Military Actions Along Border, Urges Peaceful Resolution Through Agreed Mechanisms

Cambodia Lodges Formal Protest Against Thai Military Actions Along Border, Urges Peaceful Resolution Through Agreed Mechanisms

Phnom Penh, September 2025 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) of the Kingdom of Cambodia announced today that the Royal Government of Cambodia has lodged a new formal protest against Thailand, condemning recent unilateral actions by Thai forces that expand the conflict area along the Cambodia–Thailand border, particularly in zones long inhabited by Cambodian communities.

In its statement, the Ministry highlighted three major concerns:

1. Obstructions in O’ Bei Chorn Commune — In August 2025, Thai military forces laid barbed wire, nets, barriers, and tires in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages, O’ Bei Chorn Commune, O’ Chrov District, Banteay Meanchey Province. These actions have caused severe hardship for Cambodian families who were forcibly evicted from their homes and farmland, leaving them in distress and awaiting redress.

2. Ultimatum to Evict Cambodian Citizens — On 26 and 28 August 2025, Major General Wanchana Sawasdee, Director of the Mission Coordination Office for National Security under the Royal Thai Armed Forces, publicly issued an ultimatum demanding Cambodia evacuate its citizens from Chouk Chey Village within three to six months. Failing compliance, Thai military forces threatened forced removal. In connection with this, Thai authorities erected announcement boards in the area, while the Governor of Sa Kaeo Province formally notified the Governor of Banteay Meanchey Province regarding the demand.

3. Planned Issuance of Land Titles to Thai Citizens — The Ministry expressed deep concern over Thai plans to grant land titles to Thai citizens in areas where hundreds of Cambodian families have resided for decades. Such actions, the statement underscored, constitute a unilateral attempt to redraw the border through military means. Cambodia stressed that this violates the mandate of the Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC), contravenes the spirit of the 2000 MOU on Land Boundary Demarcation, and breaches the ceasefire agreement of 28 July 2025 as well as the Agreed Minutes of the Extraordinary General Border Committee (7 August 2025) and the Regional Border Committee (22 August 2025).

The Royal Government of Cambodia reaffirmed its firm commitment to resolving boundary disputes peacefully with all neighbors in line with international law. It also reiterated its principled stance that borders must not and cannot be altered by force.

The statement concluded by urging Thailand to restore the status quo ante and address the ongoing situation through the established mechanisms of the General Border Committee (GBC) and Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), as both sides have previously committed.