AKP Phnom Penh, June 14, 2025 --

H.E. Lam Chea, Minister in charge of the Secretariat of State of Border Affairs of Cambodia, gave a brief statement this evening following the conclusion of the first day of the 6th Cambodia–Thailand Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) Meeting, stating, “The meeting went smoothly.”

The meeting, held in Phnom Penh on June 14, marked the resumption of JBC talks after a 12-year hiatus. The first day of discussions concluded around 4:00 p.m., although no official details have yet been released regarding the outcomes. The talks are scheduled to continue tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Ahead of the formal session, both delegations also held a retreat to engage in preliminary discussions.

The Cambodian delegation is led by H.E. Lam Chea, while the Thai delegation is headed by H.E. Prasas Prasasvinitchai, Advisor to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of border affairs.

Speaking on the eve of the meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet clarified that two key issues would be excluded from the agenda.

The first issue concerns border disputes involving the Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Tauch, and Ta Krabei temple complexes, as well as the Mom Bei area. The Prime Minister stated Cambodia has already decided to bring these matters before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and planned to submit an official request to the Court tomorrow, June 15.

The second issue is the ongoing border closure. According to Samdech Thipadei, opening or closing border crossings does not fall within the JBC’s jurisdiction.

He noted that the issue is straightforward: the border, which was unilaterally closed by the Thai military on June 7, 2025, should be unilaterally reopened to its previous status.

Samdech Thipadei underscored that Cambodia did not initiate the current situation and therefore should not be expected to end it. “What was started unilaterally must be ended unilaterally. There is no need for negotiation. Whoever starts first, ends first,” he declared.

Nevertheless, the Prime Minister reiterated Cambodia’s willingness to continue working with Thailand through the JBC mechanism to complete the demarcation of the remaining sections of the shared border—excluding the four disputed areas, which Cambodia intends to resolve through the ICJ.

By C. Nika