Thailand Rebukes Cambodia Over Border Conflict, Demands End to Disinformation

 

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday convened a major briefing for diplomatic missions and international organisations, where Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa directly accused Cambodia of initiating the recent border conflict and repeatedly violating international law. 

 

Bangkok also called for an immediate halt to what it termed Cambodia's "daily distortion of information" and confirmed it is pursuing compensation for damages incurred.

 

Nikorndej Balankura, Director-General of the Department of Information and spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, announced at a press conference following the briefing that representatives from 74 countries and 16 international organisations, including 28 ambassadors, attended the comprehensive briefing.

 

Notably, the Cambodian embassy's Second Secretary was present to observe.

 

Foreign Minister Maris, flanked by Piyapak Sricharoen, Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs, and Pinsuda Jayanama, Director-General of the Department of International Organisations, provided a detailed account of the situation. 

 

 

The Minister stressed that Thailand did not seek conflict, but it was regrettable that the Cambodian side "initiated the conflict first." 

 

They highlighted Cambodia's numerous violations of the ceasefire agreement and international law, including humanitarian law and several other conventions, since the agreement was reached.
 

 

Nikorndej summarised nine key points from the briefing, affirming Thailand's commitment to international responsibility, peace, international law, and universal principles, along with its desire for a good neighbourly relationship with Cambodia. However, he lamented that these aspirations have not been reciprocated.

 

 

 

"Since the beginning of this year, Cambodia has provoked Thailand multiple times and launched attacks against Thailand, violating several international obligations," Nikorndej stated. 

 

He insisted that Thailand possesses empirical evidence proving Cambodia's initial attacks were "indiscriminate," targeting civilian areas and resulting in deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, including children, and forcing evacuations. 

 

Thailand’s responses, he clarified, have always been legitimate acts of self-defence under the UN Charter, aimed at protecting sovereignty, territorial integrity, and citizen safety.

 

Thailand's military operations, he added, have been "well-considered, proportional, compliant with international law, and exclusively targeted at the Cambodian military," thus not constituting aggression. 

 

 

In stark contrast, Cambodia's "indiscriminate attacks on civilians and public places" were condemned as clear aggression and a severe breach of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and international human rights instruments concerning children, women, and persons with disabilities, as well as the Ottawa Convention on landmines.

 

 

"Thailand condemns this in the strongest terms and rejects all of Cambodia's unsubstantiated accusations on every platform and issue, such as claims of Thai aggression damaging the Preah Vihear Temple or harassing Cambodian workers in Thailand," Nikorndej said. 

 

 

 

He confirmed Thailand has already sent clarification letters to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNESCO regarding these allegations.

 

Bangkok specifically called on Phnom Penh to "cease its daily distortion of information," citing recent false accusations that Thailand evacuated Surin residents in preparation for an attack before the upcoming General Border Committee (GBC) meeting. 

 

Such "irresponsible actions" were described as undermining trust and risking escalation of the conflict to the civilian level, thereby hindering normalisation of relations.

 

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation for Malaysia's role as ASEAN Chair in facilitating the ceasefire and thanked the United States and China for their support. 

 

However, disappointment was voiced over Cambodia's continued ceasefire violations, which "demonstrate a lack of sincerity." 

 

 

Thailand reiterated its commitment to peaceful, bilateral resolution and confirmed its participation in the GBC meeting in Kuala Lumpur, from today until 7th August, with sincerity and good faith to ensure strict ceasefire enforcement.

 

Nikorndej concluded by stressing that Thailand's information presentation relies on "scientifically verifiable facts and empirical evidence," asserting that "fake news does not help." 

 

He expressed confidence that international observers would base their judgment on empirical and scientific evidence, which includes verifiable details on landmines and weaponry.

 

Regarding damages to Thai infrastructure, such as hospitals, Nikorndej confirmed that international law mandates perpetrators to compensate for losses. 

 

He stated this is an agenda item for parallel action by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to claim damages from the "aggressor" but noted that the immediate priority is to demand Cambodia honour its word and cease disinformation. 

 

The Ministry appealed to the Thai public for unity and urged reliance on official government information, assuring full government action to protect national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and citizen safety.