Thai authorities allowed nearly 3,000 people to visit Takrabei Temple and the 350 Mountain area on 13 June, before temporarily closing the sites to assess the security situation along the border.
According to Thai media reports, 2,928 visitors registered to enter the two locations on Saturday. It was the second occasion on which Thai authorities had opened the sites to the public, following visits on 6 and 7 June.
Thai media reported that some visitors laid wreaths in tribute to soldiers who were killed along the border.
Authorities said access to Takrabei Temple and 350 Mountain would be suspended from 14 June while officials assess conditions in the border area. They said a further announcement would be made once the sites are deemed safe for visitors.
Last week, authorities in Thailand’s Surin province also opened the two sites to tourists. Thai officials said more than 1,000 people visited the area after Thai forces took control of it following armed clashes along the border.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts later issued a statement condemning what it described as Thailand’s organisation of tourism activities at a site that Cambodia considers to be within its territory.
The ministry said that hosting public activities, receiving tourists and collecting entrance fees at Takrabei Temple constituted an unlawful exercise of authority on Cambodian territory and amounted to a serious violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It also called on the Thai government to immediately halt all tourism-related activities at the site, including ticket sales and any actions that could damage, alter or interfere with cultural heritage locations that Cambodia claims are situated within its territory.
The developments come amid continuing sensitivities over disputed areas along the Cambodia–Thailand border, where competing territorial claims have periodically strained relations between the two countries.
