The 6th Meeting of the Thailand - Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC)

The 6th Meeting of the Thailand - Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) was held on 14 June 2025 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Prasas Prasasvinitchai, Advisor on Border Affairs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Mr. Lam Chea, Minister in Charge of the State Secretariat of Border Affairs of Cambodia. Delegations from both sides comprised representatives of the relevant agencies from both countries.

The meeting marked the first JBC session in 13 years since the previous on was held in 2012 in Bangkok. Discussions focused on technical implementation under the JBC, which led to significant progress, notably:

(1) Approval of the outcome of the 4th Meeting of the Thailand - Cambodia Joint Technical Sub-Committee (JTSC) on 14 July 2024 in Siem Reap. Both sides agreed on the result of fact finding mission for 74 BPs, in which the location of 45 boundary pillars mutually agreed upon and also agreed to use LiDAR technology for the production of Orthophoto Maps to expedite the survey and demarcation process,

(2) Approval of the Amendment of 2003 Terms of Reference and Master Plan for the Joint Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary between Thailand and Cambodia, (TOR 2003) to incorporate LiDAR technology into the Orthophoto Maps production step.

(3) Tasking the JTSC with drafting Technical Instructions (Technical Instruction: TI), agreement to empower the JTSC to prepare TI to guide the Joint Survey Team to conduct survey and demarcation work on the terrain where boundary pillars location have been agreed,

(4) Agreement on Technical Preparation for Sector 6, to assign the JTSC to prepare technical instructions for the survey works in Section 6 (from Satta Som mountain to BP 1 at Chong Sangam, Sisaket Province), which has been pending since 2011, along with the production of Orthophoto Maps.

Despite the constructive progress, the Thai side expressed deep disappointment regarding  Cambodia’s continued refusal to address bilateral disputes in particular over the four areas of Emerald Triangle, Prasat Ta Muen Thom, Prasat Ta Muen Tod, and Prasat Ta Kwai, through the existing JBC mechanism. Instead Cambodia persists in seeking adjudication by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which Thailand views as contrary to the spirit of good neighbourliness.

In this connection, the Thai Chair of the JBC has responded to all allegations by reiterating Thailand’s positions (recorded in the annex of the Agreed Minutes of the meeting), as follows:

1. Thailand’s actions were necessary, appropriate and proportionate, in accordance with the principles of self-defense and international law.
   
   
2. Thailand expressed its disappointment that Cambodia chose to reject peaceful negotiations regarding the said four areas. The Thai government’s position all along has emphasized the critical importance of resolving issues between the two countries bilaterally, while underlining the important role of the JBC in bringing clarity to boundary areas between the two sides for the benefit of the people of both sides.
   
   
3. Thailand reiterates the critical importance of both parties adhering to the MOU 2000 (which the Cambodian and Thai sides have jointly agreed to) by not taking any action that would change the frontier environment in the area of the border, not encroaching on one another's border areas, while both sides must also exercise restraint to prevent situations from escalating.
   
   
4. Both sides must also avoid disseminating information leading to widespread misunderstanding and conflict, while reiterating the importance of other bilateral cooperation mechanisms to resolve any issues such as the GBC, RBC, and the meeting of the governors of the Thai-Cambodian border provinces to ensure peace and normalcy of the border areas and facilitate the movement of people and goods; Cambodia has rejected to discuss these issues.
   
   

In addition, the meeting did not discuss the issue of Cambodia’s submission of the four areas for the consideration of the ICJ, nor did it discuss the issue of the 1:200000 map of the Siam-Indochina Demarcation Committee, as erroneously claimed by Cambodia. The meeting instead discussed technical issues related to production of the Orthophoto maps, which is the second step of the survey and demarcation of the border areas according to the TOR.

The Special Session of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission will be hosted by Thailand and held in September 2025.

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