In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Thai soldiers carry barbed wire in Prey Chan village, along the disputed border with Thailand on Sept 17, 2025. - Photo: AKP via AP
PHNOM PENH: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has rejected Thai accusations that Cambodian villagers in Banteay Meanchey province’s Prey Chan encroached on Thai territory to stage protests, noting that the land remains formally undemarcated.
Thai authorities have repeatedly called the area their own, using their territorial claims to justify the planned imposition of Thai domestic law on the villagers, who have lived peacefully in Prey Chan for decades.
In a statement on Tuesday (Sept 23), the ministry offered a precise explanation about the current agreed demarcation.
Cambodians have been living and farming in Prey Chan for decades it said, predating the 2000 memorandum of understanding (MoU 2000) on the survey and demarcation of the border. The agreement requires both parties to maintain the status quo until the border demarcation is completed, and this is where the issue arises.
The Thai claims are based around maps which draw a line between two border markers, No. 42 and No. 43. Prey Chan is between the two.
Technical teams from both Kingdom’s have previously agreed on post No. 43, but No.42 remains unresolved, and this is the source of the issue.
Thailand cannot claim sovereignty over disputed land, and their maps — which draw a straight line between the two points — are invalid. The simplicity of the map even shows several hectares of Thai farmland as being inside Cambodian territory, further highlighting its inaccuracy.
The ministry reiterated that Thailand cannot claim sovereignty or enforce its domestic laws over communities living in an area where the border demarcation has not been officially finalised, especially when both sides have agreed to maintain the current ceasefire and avoid provocative actions, making Thai timing highly concerning.
It also justified the villagers’ protests.
“It is a legitimate response to the violation of their property, homes and farmland, with razor wire fencing surrounding the village and barriers blocking access to their homes and fields,” it said.
“The current tensions highlight the urgent need for both sides to allow the Joint Border Committee (JBC) to expedite the completion of border demarcation in this area, while maintaining a conducive environment for the committee to continue its work, in accordance with the MoU 2000,” it added.
It also called for Thailand to respect the ceasefire as much as Cambodia has.
“Cambodia hopes that Thailand will sincerely adhere to the ceasefire conditions, as affirmed, by halting plans to evict hundreds of families from their homes and lands where they have lived for decades, and allowing those already displaced to return to their villages and lands, while patiently awaiting the JBC’s completion of border demarcation,” it added.
Cambodia also reaffirmed that borders must not be altered by force. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
