Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang, Commander of Thailand's Military Region 2, said on August 25 that he had directed forces to be ready to respond in case of detecting encroachment from Cambodia.
According to him, Bangkok has clear evidence that there are still mines at the Surin border area that Thailand accuses of having installed by Cambodia.
For its part, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense denied this information. Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense, affirmed that it was the Thai forces that sought to build more barbed wire fences encroaching on Cambodian territory in chrysov district, Banteay Meanchey province. Local people and the government have reacted, forcing Thailand to withdraw.
In that context, both sides emphasized the importance of the dialogue mechanism. It is expected that on August 27, the meeting of the Regional Border Committee (RBC) between Cambodia and Thailand will take place at Chong Sa-ngam border gate, Phu Sing district, Si Sa Ket province, Thailand.
According to Lieutenant General Boonsin, Thailand will continue to make proposals that were raised in previous discussions, including clearing bombs and mines across the border, coordinating the fight against cross-border crimes such as online fraud rings and establishing a border coordination group.
The issue of the barbed wire fence will also be raised at the meeting, as Cambodia proposes Thailand will remove it. However, the Thai side believes that barriers have been erected on the border.
On the morning of August 26, Thai and Cambodian military officials held a discussion at the Chaom-SaNgam international border crossing to prepare for the regional Border Commission (RBC) meeting on August 27.
Observers say that although border tensions remained calm, both Thailand and Cambodia have the advantage of maintaining a dialogue channel to avoid the risk of escalation.
