Press Briefing: Update on the Development of the Situation between Cambodia and Thailand
11 AM, January 15, 2026
Intervention by H.E. Pen Bona, Royal Government Spokesperson
Samdech, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning!
After the request by the Thai side to postpone for the second time, the special meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) for reason of finalization of its internal procedures required to appoint a new composition of the JBC (Thai Side) after the formation of a new Thai Cabinet following the General Election in early February, the Cambodian Side has once again requested the Thai Side, through a diplomatic note dated 13 January 2026, as follows:
- Request to dispatch the Joint Survey Teams (JSTs) of both sides to resume the works of the joint survey and emplacement of the temporary markers on the terrain, at the boundary segment between Boundary Pillars 42-47 and 52-59 on any suitable date between 19 and 23 January 2026.
2. Request to dispatch the Joint Survey Teams (JSTs) of both sides on the terrain, from any suitable date between 26 and 30 January 2026, to replace 15 Boundary Pillars, for which both sides agreed on the location to their original locations and specifications.
The dispatch of the Joint Survey Teams on the terrain to continue the field works is carried out in full compliance with the agreed procedures and technical instructions, and in line with the substance of the Agreed Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) dated 22 October 2025 in Chanthaburi Province. During a caretaker period, the working-level teams are still continuing their tasks, as the Thai PM stated recently and quoted by The Nation Thailand.
Point 3 of the Joint Statement of December 27, 2025, stated that both sides agree that all arrangements under this Joint Statement are without prejudice to the border demarcation and international boundary between the two countries. Both sides agree to refer to the Joint Boundary Commission to resume, at the earliest, the survey and demarcation works, in accordance with existing agreements between the two countries to achieve lasting peace along the border.
The Royal Government Spokesperson would like to inform the Cambodian people that it is in the spirit of respecting the agreements and desiring lasting peace along the border that Cambodia has submitted a series of requests to the Thai side to continue to demarcate the border between the two countries, at the earliest, in accordance with conventions, treaties, and international laws.
The Spokesperson for the Royal Government of Cambodia would like to reiterate that the Royal Government of Cambodia maintains a firm position in safeguarding the Cambodia-Thailand international boundary as inherited from the Commission of Delimitation of the Boundary between Indo-China and Siam, in full respect of international law principles, the principle of intangibility of frontiers (Uti Possidetis Juris), the Franco-Siamese conventions and treaties, the maps, and the procès-verbaux of the Commission of the Abornement of the Boundary between Indo-China and Siam, as well as all relevant agreements and documents mutually agreed upon by both parties. Cambodia reiterates that it will not recognize any alteration of the boundary line resulting from the use of force.
