Hun Manet orders ICJ action over border dispute with Thailand

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a strong statement condemning the Thai authorities over a recent violent border clash, calling it a serious violation of Cambodia's sovereignty.

According to the statement, a Cambodian delegation was dispatched to the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh to deliver a formal protest note regarding the incident, which took place along the Cambodia–Thailand border.

The ministry accused the Thai military of initiating the attack and stated that the Cambodian government considers this an unacceptable act infringing on national sovereignty.

Prime Minister Hun Manet has reportedly ordered the Joint Border Commission (JBC) to prepare legal documentation for submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), concerning the disputed areas around Ta Muen Thom, Ta Kwai, Mombei, and Chong Bok.

The statement includes five key points, citing details of the firearm use that allegedly occurred in the border area on May 28, 2025.

• On May 28, 2025, at 5.30am, Thai military forces unlawfully opened fire from a trench located in Techo Morokot Village, Morokot Commune, Choam Khsant District, Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia. The attack resulted in the unjustified death of a Cambodian soldier.
• The Cambodian government emphasizes that its border troops have been stationed peacefully and consistently at this position long before the signing of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Royal Thai Government on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundaries.

• Cambodia strongly protests the unprovoked armed assault by the Thai military, which it views as a violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a breach of the spirit of friendship and good neighbourliness reflected in the 2000 MoU.
• The Cambodian government calls for an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident and urges that those responsible for this serious and unlawful act be brought to justice.
• Nonetheless, Cambodia reaffirms its firm commitment to maximum restraint and to resolving this incident—and all border-related matters—peacefully and diplomatically through existing mechanisms, including the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and the General Border Committee (GBC), in the spirit of creating a border of peace, cooperation, and friendship with Thailand and other neighbouring countries.

On Sunday, June 1, Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on Facebook, stating that "After returning from overseas missions, today I met with our military leadership stationed at the border in order to hear their reports on the actual situation along the Cambodia-Thailand border.  

As I have already stated, Cambodia firmly adheres to the peaceful resolution of border issues through technical mechanisms and international law as a core foundation. 

In this regard, I have instructed the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Border Commission (JBC) to:  

1. Immediately organise a JBC meeting with the Thai counterpart to continue the work of surveying, demarcating and putting up border markers between the two countries.  

2. Prepare to include in the JBC meeting agenda, the topic of bringing the issues of 

Ta Moan Thom, 
Ta Moan Toch, 
Ta Kro Bei temples 
and the Mombei area to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).  

Due to the fact that recently, tensions have escalated in the Mombei area,Ta Moan Thom and Ta Moan Toch areas due to repeated provocations by small extremist groups,  fueling nationalist movements in both countries which could lead to renewed confrontation in the future. I hope both sides could work together to reach a final resolution for these sensitive disputed areas, as well as to peacefully continue the survey, demarcation, and border marker installation in undemarcated zones—based on technical grounds and international law.  

I once again wish to emphasize that while Cambodia seeks to peacefully resolve the border issues through technical mechanisms and international law, Cambodia reserves the right to defend the territorial integrity, by all means including the use of armed forces, in case of any attempts to invade Cambodian territory using military force.