Cambodia Protests Thai Activities Near Border Pillar

The Royal Government of Cambodia has formally lodged a strong protest against what it described as further violations by Thailand of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity along the Cambodia-Thailand border. According to a press release issued on Thursday evening by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Sept. 15, 2026, Thai armed forces used heavy machinery to level the ground and construct an earthen trench in the vicinity of Boundary Pillar No. 9 in the Ta Tum area, Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province. The Royal Government of Cambodia strongly protested the activities, describing them as a clear violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as defined and delimited by the 1:200,000-scale maps produced by the Commissions of Delimitation of the Boundary between Indo-China and Siam pursuant to the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907. The Cambodian side said the activities also violated Article 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand on the Survey and Demarcation of the Land Boundary, signed on June 14, 2000, as well as the Joint Statement of the 3rd Special Meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) on Dec. 27, 2025. Under the Dec. 27, 2025 GBC Joint Statement, Cambodia said, both sides agreed to refer to the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to resume, at the earliest, survey and demarcation work in accordance with existing agreements between the two countries. The Royal Government of Cambodia reiterated that it does not accept any boundary line or territorial claim unilaterally asserted by Thailand. It further stressed that the activities in question shall not prejudice the legal rights or position of the Kingdom of Cambodia with respect to its international boundary. Moreover, Cambodia demanded that Thailand cease such actions, and honour its commitment to de-escalating the situation, fostering mutual trust, facilitating peaceful settlement of disputes, thereby restoring peace, stability and good-neighbourly relations along the Cambodia-Thailand border. The Kingdom also reiterated its commitment to resolving all boundary disputes with Thailand, as with all its neighbours, exclusively through peaceful means, in line with international law and existing bilateral agreements, while firmly upholding its principled position that borderlines must not be changed by force.