On March 30, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation rejected reports that Cambodia had offered to cede territory in exchange for an end to Thai incursions but had been rebuffed. The ministry described the claims as false and as a politically motivated distortion by certain opposition figures.
The statement accused exiled opposition figures Sam Rainsy and Um Sam An, along with some foreign-based media, of taking Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn’s border remarks out of context. It said that, speaking to displaced border residents in Thma Da, Pursat province, on March 27, he had emphasised peaceful resolution within international law and through existing treaties and mechanisms.
The ministry called the territorial-concession claim a malicious fabrication and said the Cambodia–Thailand boundary was based on the 1904 convention, the 1907 treaty and historical maps. Cambodia reiterated that land found during demarcation to have been occupied across the line by either side should be returned on a reciprocal basis, and that disputes should be handled peacefully and legally. These are the Cambodian side’s positions.
