Cambodia Marks 1 Year Since Thai Invasion, Honors Victims

Minister of Information Net Pheaktra recalled the invasion by the Thai military on July 24, 2025, as Cambodia prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the armed aggression against its sovereign territory. He stated that on July 24, 2025, the Thai military launched an invasion into Cambodian territory, firing upon Cambodian forces engaged in duties to protect the country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and legal borders. The aggression began in the area of Ta Moan Thom Temple in Oddar Meanchey province and spread along the Cambodia-Thailand border. Minister Pheaktra added that this invasion was not a random occurrence. Nearly two months prior, on the morning of May 28, 2025, Thai troops entered an area occupied by Cambodian forces and fatally shot one Cambodian soldier, Suon Roan. These events clearly demonstrated a pattern of provocation, the use of force, and repeated violations of Cambodia's sovereignty, culminating in the large-scale attack on July 24, 2025. Therefore, July 24, 2025, is not an ordinary date. It is a day to be remembered to honor the sacrifices of heroic soldiers, border police, national defense forces, and Cambodian citizens, and to preserve the truth of history against distortion and deception. Minister Pheaktra also affirmed that Cambodia did not initiate the war but has the full right to defend its territory, people, and sovereignty against any external aggression. Concurrently, Minister Net Pheaktra shared sorrowful images of hospitals, schools, pagodas, and numerous other civilian sites, which serve as painful testimonies to the indiscriminate attacks by the Thai military on Cambodian territory. During the armed aggression from July 24 to July 27, 2025, the Thai military used military force, heavy weaponry, and fighter jets to bomb various areas within Cambodian territory, disregarding whether these locations were civilian sites, residential areas, or healthcare facilities. The attacks on religious sites and civilian areas were not accidental but clear evidence of the indiscriminate nature, cruelty, and danger of the Thai military's armed actions against Cambodia. This devastation is a historical wound and irrefutable proof that the use of fighter jets and heavy weapons on Cambodian territory reflected an intent to invade, violate sovereignty, and disregard international law. Furthermore, the Minister emphasized, "Artillery shells can destroy hospitals, schools, and pagodas, but they cannot destroy the truth, the memory, and Cambodia's will to protect its sovereignty, peace, and the future of its children. Cambodia remembers! The Cambodian people remember! And history will record all acts of aggression, all bombs dropped, and all devastation caused on Cambodian soil." It should be noted that in 2025, the Thai military launched two large-scale wars of aggression against Cambodia's territorial integrity: the first from July 24 to 27, and the second from December 7 to 27. Source: AKP Khmer