(Phnom Penh): On the morning of October 23, 2025, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on Facebook to explain the border issue with Thailand to the public once again. He stressed that Cambodia’s government had not ceded any of its sovereign territory to Thailand in exchange for a ceasefire or peace agreement.
The full message from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet follows:
“Dear fellow citizens,
Today I would like to tell you a little about the efforts to resolve the problems in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages. The situation has taken a step forward and is clearer than before, as both sides can discuss legal principles to seek a peaceful solution.
The problems in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages began when the Thai military used barbed wire and vehicle tyres to enclose some residents’ homes and farmland over the past two months or more. This has caused difficulties for those directly affected as well as other residents of the two villages. It has also caused anxiety among Cambodians at home and abroad who are following the issue.
From the outset, the government’s goal has been to contain the situation so that it does not spread, affect more people and become more serious, while finding every possible way to resolve the problems on the ground as quickly as possible. To achieve this, the government has adopted an approach of patience and peaceful means in seeking a solution. Any use of violence would not only fail to resolve the issue, but could also extend the geographical scope of the conflict, cause more people to suffer more serious consequences, and make it harder to find a solution and end the problem quickly.
I understand how you feel. The calm approach the government has taken sometimes cannot immediately deliver the results we want. As the search for a solution appears to produce no results and actions on the ground become increasingly serious, some of you may feel discouraged and believe there will be no solution.
In addition, certain actions by the Thai side, such as demining, allocating land to Thai citizens or demolishing buildings within areas already enclosed by Thai troops, have reinforced the feeling that there may be no solution. Some people may also mistakenly believe that Cambodia’s government secretly agreed to cede Cambodian land in exchange for a ceasefire or peace agreement.
I reiterate that there has been no secret agreement to cede any territory under Cambodia’s lawful sovereignty to any country in exchange for ceasefire or peace negotiations. Cambodia does not violate its neighbours’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, but neither does it consent to violations of its own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The border issue is a complex problem inherited over hundreds of years that we must resolve together so that the people of both countries can live peacefully alongside one another at the border for the long term. Any acceptable solution, however, must be based on transparency and mutual agreement without coercion by either side, use the mechanisms agreed upon, and rest on the existing treaties, conventions and agreements between the two countries. In this respect, surveying and demarcation fall under the authority of the Cambodia–Thailand Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and must be addressed peacefully in accordance with the existing treaties, conventions and agreements between Cambodia and Thailand. The JBC has done much productive work together over the past 20-plus years, although it has not yet completed everything.
At the two full days of JBC meetings on October 21–22, which ended after midnight as October 23, 2025 began, the two sides discussed in detail how to find a transparent solution consistent with the agreed principles, with the aim of ending the disputes in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages, between boundary markers 42 and 47.
To find this solution, both sides agreed to continue technical work to determine joint surveying and the placement of temporary markers, using the 1:200,000 map, the 1907 treaty and the records of the Franco-Siamese boundary demarcation commission as the basis. The results will be checked against residents’ actual occupation on both sides for further resolution.
Only through this approach can the two sides reach a sound long-term solution, resolve the problems in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages, and enable residents to return to their normal lives and livelihoods, avoiding a protracted problem for years to come.”
Preah Sihanouk Provincial Television — By: Pai Sokhim
