Cambodia presses Thailand to resume joint border survey work

H.E. Lam Chea, Head of the State Secretariat of Border Affairs said Bangkok

PHNOM PENH, Jan 31, 2026 — Cambodia said on Saturday that Thailand has yet to formally respond to requests to convene a special meeting of the Cambodian–Thai Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and to resume joint survey work along disputed border segments, despite prior agreements between the two sides.

In a statement, Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Border Affairs said Bangkok had not replied to a Cambodian diplomatic note dated Jan. 13 seeking the dispatch of joint survey teams to continue boundary survey and temporary marker placement between boundary pillars 42–47 and 52–59, as well as the replacement of 15 boundary pillars previously agreed upon by both sides.

Cambodia said it had sent a further note verbale on Jan. 29 proposing that joint survey teams resume field work between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13, and calling for meetings of the Cambodian–Thai Operational Group and Joint Technical Sub-Commission in the second week of February.

The Cambodian side also lodged a strong protest over actions by Thai military forces that it said involved clearing and destroying homes and property of Cambodian civilians and preventing their return, warning that such actions contravene the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding and the Joint Statement of the third Special General Border Committee meeting in December 2025.

Phnom Penh further rejected Thai assertions that border demarcation work could not proceed until full demining was completed, saying past survey and demarcation activities had been carried out under JBC mechanisms in line with existing agreements.

Cambodia reaffirmed that it would not recognise any alteration of the international boundary resulting from the use of force and said it remained committed to resolving border issues through technical mechanisms, international law and previously agreed frameworks, with the aim of ensuring lasting peace along the frontier.