Cambodia postpones military border talks indefinitely, says Thai crisis centre chief

Thai-Cambodian border tensions continue as planned troop withdrawal stalls

Cambodia has indefinitely postponed the upcoming Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting, which was originally scheduled for June 27–28, according to Deputy Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit, who heads Thailand’s newly established Special Operations Centre for Thai-Cambodian Border Situations Management (SOC-TCBSM).

The Thai side had planned to propose the withdrawal of troops from confrontation points along the border at the meeting, which was to be hosted by Cambodia. However, Cambodia requested the postponement without providing a reason, Natthaphon said on Tuesday.

SOC-TCBSM convenes first meeting

Speaking after chairing the first SOC-TCBSM meeting at Government House, Natthaphon said the centre’s goal is to restore normalcy along the Thai-Cambodian border as soon as possible.
The Cabinet approved the formation of SOC-TCBSM on Tuesday and appointed the deputy defence minister as its chief.

The RBC, a bilateral military mechanism, is designed to facilitate dialogue between the armed forces of both nations at the regional level. The meeting had been expected to address the military build-up along the border following a May 28 skirmish near Chong Bok pass in Ubon Ratchathani.

Thailand had planned to propose reducing troop presence to pre-skirmish levels—a so-called "skeleton presence".

Framework for talks and daily briefings

Natthaphon said his centre is now working on defining a framework for the delayed RBC meeting and will push for it to be rescheduled as soon as possible.

The first SOC-TCBSM meeting, held at 1pm on Tuesday, was attended by representatives from all key government agencies, including Royal Thai Army spokesman Col Winthai Suvari. The session lasted two hours, followed by a press conference at 3pm.

Going forward, the centre will meet daily from Monday to Friday at 9.30am, except on Tuesdays, when meetings will be held at 2pm. Press briefings will follow at noon or 2pm, and will be broadcast live on NBT. Natthaphon added that members will be on standby for weekend teleconferences, if required.

Thailand bans cross-border casino work, but avoids power cuts
As a retaliatory measure to Cambodia’s ban on Thai vegetable and fruit imports, Thailand has banned its citizens from crossing the border to work in casinos in Poi Pet, Natthaphon confirmed.

He also revealed that Thailand had closed night-time border crossings due to military tensions. "Troops from both sides are pointing heavy weapons at each other," he said, noting the potential risk to civilians, especially after dark.

Natthaphon clarified that Thailand has not cut electricity to Poi Pet or other Cambodian towns. "It was Cambodia that initiated the cut in electricity supply from Thailand. We won’t use any measure that affects people along the border," he said.

Open to academic dialogue on crisis management

Natthaphon concluded by saying the centre would function as a consultative round-table body, welcoming perspectives from academics. He invited those who had proposed ideas for managing Thai-Cambodian tensions to join a seminar with the centre.