Thai officials expressed their hope that Cambodia would withdraw troops and resume bilateral negotiations.
Speaking on July 3, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said that the border situation with Cambodia has somewhat calmed down due to no more clashes, although soldiers and weapons are still deployed close to the border. He stressed that Thailand hopes that both sides will withdraw forces back to their positions as last year to ensure the safety of local people.
Mr. March affirmed that Thailand will resolve issues with Cambodia through official diplomatic channels and will not conduct negotiations via social networks.
The current tensions stem from the clash on May 28 between Thai and Cambodian forces in the disputed border area. The incident killed a Cambodian soldier.
At the National Assembly, Thai Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit said that the measures applied by Thailand in the border area do not put too much pressure on the people. The border is not completely closed, but the movement of people and vehicles is limited to daily activities related to work, study or trade.
However, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense has rejected statements from Thailand regarding the incident on May 28, calling it "false and misunderstanding".
The Cambodian military affirmed that it has strictly followed military discipline, ensuring that there are no violations of established procedures without prior bilateral consensus.
In terms of dialogue, Thai Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphon confirmed that Cambodian members of the Joint Border Commission (JBC) have resumed exchanges with the Thai side, which is seen as a positive signal after a period of refusal to negotiate and only want to take the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), something Thailand opposes.
In a related development, President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen on July 3 requested to stop importing strategic goods from Thailand for national security reasons.
Mr. Hun Sen called for no purchase of electricity, Internet, or gasoline from Thailand, and ordered the suspension of all Thai TV series and entertainment content in Cambodia.
Mr. Hun Sen emphasized that cutting the supply of strategic goods from Thailand has occurred in the past, so Cambodia needs to proactively prevent. He also reiterated that Cambodia had stopped showing Thai films in 2003 and only resumed them around 2016 2017 after Thailand repeatedly requested them.
