Cambodia Strongly Protests Thai PM’s Unauthorised Visit to Sovereign Territory in Preah Vihear
Cambodia Strongly Protests Thai PM’s Unauthorised Visit to Sovereign Territory in Preah Vihear
PHNOM PENH, 25 August 2026 — Cambodia has lodged what it describes as its strongest protest against the visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand to the An Seh area in Choam Ksan District, Preah Vihear Province, on 23 August, according to a statement issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Royal Government of Cambodia said the visit was unauthorised and constituted a deliberate attempt to assert what it described as illegitimate claims over Cambodian sovereign territory.
In its statement, Phnom Penh said the area has been under what it considers illegal occupation by Thai armed forces since last year, stressing that an unlawful act cannot create legal rights. Cambodia therefore said the Thai prime minister’s visit could not legitimise Thailand’s presence or territorial claims in the area.
Cambodia further argued that the visit amounted to a grave violation of Cambodian sovereign territory, as defined and delimited by the 1:200,000-scale maps produced by the commissions responsible for delimiting the boundary between Indochina and Siam.
The Cambodian government also pointed to Item I of the Joint Statement of the 3rd Special General Border Committee (GBC) Meeting on 27 December 2025, which it said explicitly prohibits provocative actions that could escalate tensions along the border.
Cambodia stressed that neither a unilaterally drawn map nor a visit based on such a map can alter the internationally recognized boundary.
The Royal Government further reiterated that it does not accept any boundary line or territorial claim unilaterally asserted by Thailand, and said the Thai prime minister’s visit would not prejudice Cambodia’s legal rights or position regarding its international boundary.
Cambodia called on Thailand to cease such actions in the areas mentioned in the statement, as well as in other areas that Cambodia says have been unlawfully occupied by Thai armed forces since last year.
According to the statement, the objective is to de-escalate the situation, build mutual trust, facilitate a peaceful settlement of disputes, and restore peace, stability and good-neighbourly relations along the Cambodia–Thailand border.
The Cambodian government reaffirmed that it remains committed to resolving boundary disputes with Thailand exclusively through peaceful means, in accordance with international law and existing bilateral agreements, while maintaining its position that borders must not be changed by force.
