On October 23, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted a message on his official Facebook page, after the end of the second special meeting of the Cambodia - Thailand Joint Border Committee (GBC) in Malaysia and the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Land Border Intermediation (JBC) in Thailand.
Prime Minister Hun Manet said the two sides had made progress in handling the situation in Choek Chhay and Prey Chan villages, when they agreed to continue dialogue based on technical and legal principles.
Hun Manet stressed that the situation has gone one step further with more clarity, reaffirming that Cambodia does not have any secret agreements or territorial censeakes in the ongoing efforts to resolve the border issue with Thailand.
According to him, the dispute arose when Thai soldiers built barbed wire fences and used military vehicles to surround a number of houses and fields of Cambodian people for more than 2 months, seriously affecting their lives.
Mr. Hun Manet emphasized that the government is still committed to resolving the issue peacefully and legally based on transparency and mutual respect.
Meanwhile, The Nation reported that Thailand's Defense Minister, General Nattapon Nakpanich, assessed the GBC meetings in Kuala Lumpur as "successful", saying that the Cambodian side had agreed to four main conditions to maintain peace along the border.
Conditions include: pulled heavy weapons out of border areas, cleared bombs and mines, suppressed online fraud gangs, and managed border villages in Sa Kaeo province.
The two sides also signed a Reference Agreement (TOR) on the establishment of an Interim Monitoring Group (IOT) to monitor the withdrawal of weapons, with a specific deadline and target. The military commanders of the two countries will coordinate directly in implementing this plan.
General Nattapon said that Cambodia's BM-21 rocket artillery withdrawal was necessary to ensure the safety of Thai residents living near the border.
Another step forward is the agreed upon of the standard operating procedure (SOP) for blasting and mines in both the disputed and non-district areas, allowing technical forces to start work immediately. This is considered the first time Cambodia and Thailand have reached a detailed agreement on this cooperation.
In addition, the two countries also agreed to establish a joint task force against cybercrime within the next 2 weeks, to share information, evidence and coordinate the arrest of cross-border fraud suspects.
Regarding the border issue in the Sa Kaeo area, the two sides will conduct a joint survey from landmark 42 to 47 and build a temporary marker to clearly identify the land use boundary of residents of the two countries.
