Cambodian PM: Thailand occupied territory after Trump-brokered ceasefire

(Patria) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told Reuters that Thai forces are occupying Cambodian territory after fighting last year despite a peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump. Hun Manet called on Thailand to allow the joint border commission to start working on their disputed border.

Hun Manet traveled to Washington to attend a meeting of Trump's Peace Committee this week and said he hoped the body could play a role in de-escalating the situation on the border, which he described as "fragile" despite a December ceasefire that ended renewed fighting. The committee was established to oversee a peace plan for Gaza, but Trump said it could take on a broader role.

Thailand has said it is maintaining troop positions as part of de-escalation measures and denied occupying territory.

The Cambodian leader's comments highlight the risk that the conflict could reignite despite Trump's continued promotion of the peace deal's success.
The worst fighting in more than a decade, which broke out in July, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and disrupted trade across the 817-kilometer border. An October peace agreement signed with Trump and the Malaysian prime minister collapsed within weeks before a new ceasefire was reached on December 27.

"We still have Thai forces occupying deep inside Cambodian territory in many areas. This is far beyond even Thailand's own unilateral claims... border lines," Hun Manet told Reuters in his first interview with international media, adding that Thai troops had placed shipping containers and barbed wire inside what Thailand has long recognized as Cambodian territory and that residents could not return home.

"This is not an accusation, but a statement of facts on the ground."

Cambodia could not accept what he called "a violation of our sovereignty or territorial integrity," he said.

"The only way to verify this is to use the technical mechanism we have, based on treaties, based on all agreements we have. Therefore, we hope that Thailand will agree and start allowing the JBC (joint border commission) to work as soon as possible," he said, adding that Thailand had cited the February 8 elections as a reason not to start demarcation work.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul rode a wave of nationalism in the elections following the border conflict.

"Now that the elections are over, we hope Thailand can start, at least on a technical level, to start measuring, to start demarcating at the hotspots, so that we can return to life," Manet said.

Long-time Cambodian leader Hun Sen announced that he would hand over power to his son, Hun Manet, after the 2023 elections in which his ruling Cambodian People's Party was virtually unopposed.

The rise of Manet, a 48-year-old graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, followed by Trump's involvement in the border dispute, has led to warmer ties between Washington and Phnom Penh, which had been moving closer to China for years.

Manet said relations with China and the US "are not mutually exclusive" and said Cambodia "has nothing to hide" regarding the Ream naval base that China has upgraded.