Cambodian Military Chief Briefs French Official on Border Dispute with Thailand, Emphasizes Peaceful Resolution

On the morning of September 16, 2026, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, General Vong Pisen, continued to raise the issue of the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand during a meeting with a French official responsible for security matters. He informed the French official about the actual situation along the border. Alongside discussing the border situation, General Vong Pisen reiterated Cambodia's stance to resolve this border issue through peaceful mechanisms, based on international law and existing bilateral agreements between Cambodia and Thailand. He further clarified to the French side that Cambodia does not recognize borders altered by the use of force. During the meeting, General Vong Pisen also expressed his gratitude to France for its support of the ceasefire and its efforts to find a peaceful resolution to this border dispute. In response to the Cambodia-Thailand border issue, Major General Stephane Richou, Director General of Security and National Defense Relations of France, thanked Cambodia for providing information on the border situation and stated that he would convey this information to the French Ministry of Defense. Beyond border issues, the meeting between the Commander-in-Chief of the Cambodian Army and the French security official also discussed bilateral relations and cooperation between Cambodia and France, which have been continuously strengthened and are moving towards a strategic partnership. Cooperation in the defense sector has also seen progress. Regarding the defense sector, General Vong Pisen thanked the French army for its contribution to training human resources for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces through scholarships and numerous training courses, including training for forces in United Nations peacekeeping missions. He expressed his intention to further expand military cooperation with France on several fronts, including human resource training, exchange of visits and information, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, transnational crime, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, and technology-based fraud, as well as humanitarian work, inter-service cooperation, naval port calls, and joint exercises.