Banteay Meanchey Governor Lodges Protest with Sa Kaeo Governor over Thai Violations in Disputed Border Villages
Banteay Meanchey Governor Lodges Protest with Sa Kaeo Governor over Thai Violations in Disputed Border Villages
Banteay Meanchey, September 28, 2025 – The Governor of Banteay Meanchey Province has sent a formal protest letter to the Governor of Sa Kaeo Province of the Kingdom of Thailand, denouncing the Thai side’s unilateral actions in Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages, O’ Beichoan commune, Ou Chrov district, Banteay Meanchey Province.
According to the letter, the Thai authorities recently erected banners declaring the enforcement of Thai domestic law over Cambodian residents in the two villages. The Banteay Meanchey administration stressed that such actions pose a serious threat to the rights of law-abiding Cambodian citizens, who have been living in these areas long before the signing of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU 2000) on Land Boundary Delimitation and Demarcation between Cambodia and Thailand.
The protest further underlined that Sa Kaeo provincial authorities have no jurisdiction to determine borders or to apply Thai domestic laws on Cambodian communities residing in areas where the boundary has not yet been demarcated. The letter recalled the outcomes of the first special meeting of the Cambodia–Thailand General Border Committee (GBC), held on September 10, 2025, during which both parties agreed to maintain the status quo until border demarcation work is completed.
The Banteay Meanchey Governor also stressed that the repeated unilateral actions by the Thai side are aggravating tensions in disputed areas and constitute violations of several key agreements:
– The ceasefire agreement of July 28, 2025,
– The outcomes of the extraordinary GBC meeting of August 7, 2025,
– The agreements reached in the extraordinary Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting, and
– The commitments made during the first special GBC meeting on September 10, 2025, particularly Point 8, which prohibits any action that undermines mutual trust, causes confusion, increases tensions, or expands the scope of conflict.
The letter concluded that such unilateral actions by the Thai side are a blatant violation of the agreements and called for an immediate halt to all activities that could further escalate the situation.
