In an exclusive Reuters interview on February 17, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Thai forces still controlled parts of Cambodian territory despite a peace accord brokered by US President Donald Trump after 2025 fighting. He urged Thailand to allow the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to begin technical and legal work on the longstanding dispute. In Washington for the week’s Board of Peace meeting, he hoped the body could help de-escalate what he called a fragile border situation.
Hun Manet said Thai forces were deployed deep inside several areas of Cambodian territory, beyond Thailand’s own unilateral boundary claims. He said they had placed shipping containers and barbed wire in areas Thailand had long recognised as Cambodian, preventing displaced residents from returning and worsening tensions.
He described this as facts on the ground rather than a unilateral accusation and said Cambodia could not accept violations of sovereignty or territorial integrity. He reiterated that verification through technical mechanisms under existing treaties and agreements was the only viable solution, urging Thailand to agree to prompt JBC work through institutional channels.
