Recently, the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia issued a strong response to the misleading statement made by Thailand’s Foreign Minister during the United Nations General Assembly. The Ministry stated that such remarks were a distortion of the truth and a violation of Cambodia’s history and sovereignty.
The Ministry raised a series of clear questions to highlight Thailand’s acts of aggression, calling on both the Cambodian people and the international community to see the facts:
Who initiated the first attack that caused the death of a Cambodian soldier at Veal Entry (Three Pagodas Pass)?
Who unilaterally closed the border?
Who deployed barbed wire to encircle Ta Moan Thom Temple?
Who launched attacks against Cambodian forces, leading to five consecutive nights and days of fighting?
Who violated the Franco–Siam Treaty and the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)?
Who refused third-party involvement in resolving the dispute?
Who breached ceasefire agreements multiple times, including capturing Cambodian soldiers, expanding disputed zones, and ordering troops into minefields?
Who violated international law by using barbed wire as a de facto borderline?
And if Thailand truly claims to be the victim, why is it afraid of international intervention and a ruling by the International Court of Justice?
The Ministry of Interior stressed: “In the end, it is not only Cambodians and our neighbors in Thailand – it is the whole world that now clearly recognizes Thailand’s aggression.”
It should be noted that Cambodia’s response came after Thailand’s Foreign Minister attempted to mislead the international community at the UN General Assembly, claiming that: “We know who the real victims are – it is Thai soldiers who lost their legs to landmines, it is our children whose schools were destroyed by heavy artillery, and it is our innocent civilians who were attacked by Cambodian rockets.”
