AKP Phnom Penh, August 12, 2025 --

The ink has barely dried on the ceasefire agreement between the governments of Thailand and Cambodia, and already its promise of peace feels like a cruel deception. While diplomats in Kuala Lumpur, with the full backing of international observers, toasted a 13-point plan for de-escalation, a chillingly different message was being broadcast from within Thailand's own military hierarchy. The Khmer saying, "shake hand while stepping on foot"—or more literally, "hug the head, drag the feet"—has never been more apt.

Just as the world was welcoming the fragile truce, a senior Thai military official, the commander of Army Region 2, reportedly threatened to seize the ancient Khmer temples of Tamone Thom and Ta Krabey. These threats are not merely empty saber-rattling. They are a direct, public, and deliberate violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the agreement his own government just signed. They show a profound and dangerous disconnect between Thailand's civilian leadership and its powerful military, or, worse, a deliberate strategy of deception.

The dispute over these 11th-century temples, which are indisputably within Cambodia’s sovereign territory according to international maps and historical consensus, has been a perennial source of tension. But to make an aggressive claim on them at this precise moment is an act of breathtaking bad faith. It is a clear signal that for some in Thailand’s powerful military, diplomacy is not a path to peace, but a mere tactic to gain an advantage. The ceasefire is a public hug, while the threat of invasion is the foot being dragged, prepared to trip and undermine Cambodia's security and sovereignty.

The international community, particularly the world powers who witnessed the signing of this deal, cannot afford to be naive. Malaysia, which hosted the talks, and the United States and China, which sent observers, have a responsibility that extends beyond simply applauding a piece of paper. The very credibility of their diplomatic efforts is now on the line. To remain silent in the face of such a flagrant and immediate contradiction would be to legitimize this "two-faced" approach to international relations. It would signal to rogue elements within any military that they can threaten war even as their government signs a peace deal.

The time for quiet diplomacy has passed. The international witnesses to the ceasefire agreement must now act decisively. They must publicly condemn the threats emanating from Thailand’s military and demand an immediate clarification from the Thai government. They must make it unequivocally clear that any violation of Cambodian sovereignty, particularly a military incursion into the Tamone Thom and Ta Krabey temple sites, will be met with firm and coordinated international action.

The future of peace along the Thai-Cambodian border depends on holding all parties, especially those who wield military power, accountable for their actions. The ceasefire was a fragile step forward. The threats from Army Region 2 are a dangerous leap backward. The world cannot stand by and watch this treachery unfold. It is time for the guarantors of the peace deal to stand up for the principles of sovereignty and peace they so recently championed.

By Ouk Kimseng
Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Information

(The views and opinions expressed are his own.)