A senior opposition figure is urging Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to explain to the public why Thai soldiers have been permitted to dig and build fortifications near the Ta Moan Thom temple without any objection from the Cambodian government.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Cambodia National Rescue Party official Um Sam An said Ta Moan Thom is historically Cambodian territory. He questioned why Thai troops are being allowed to carry out military construction at the temple site, despite Cambodia having previously submitted the case to the International Court of Justice.
Um Sam An pointed to the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia and Thailand, which prohibits unilateral construction or new developments in disputed areas. He noted that when Cambodia once dug a trench in the so-called Mom Bei area, Thailand objected and demanded Cambodian troops withdraw. He argued that Thailand’s current actions, if left unchecked, represent a serious insult to Cambodian sovereignty and show weakness in Hun Manet’s leadership.
Video footage circulating online shows Thai military forces using heavy machinery, including excavators and trucks, to build a fortified road or ramp near the base of Ta Moan Thom. The construction uses large concrete pipes and piles of compacted earth, reportedly strong enough to support the deployment of around 100 troops.
Um Sam An urged the Cambodian government to file new legal complaints with the International Court of Justice over four disputed areas: Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch, Takrabei, and Mom Bei area. He called for urgency, comparing it to the recent Senate-approved constitutional amendment allowing the revocation of Khmer citizenship from foreign nationals accused of treason. He also asked the Foreign Ministry to formally demand that Thailand dismantle the fortifications.
Citing French colonial-era maps from the 1907 treaty between France and Siam, Um Sam An claimed that Cambodian territory extends more than one kilometer beyond Ta Moan Thom. He accused Thailand of unilaterally redrawing the border to occupy the area.
On July 1, Prime Minister Hun Manet acknowledged that the areas of Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch, Takrabei, and Mom Bei area remain unresolved and are awaiting judgment from the ICJ. He warned that no party has the right to act unilaterally in these zones.
Critics have pointed out that what the Cambodian government calls “unresolved areas” are often zones that neighboring countries have effectively controlled for decades. These include Koh Tral, Koh Kood, and parts of the Trilateral Economic Development Zone bordering Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.
In 2008, during a previous administration, Cambodia allowed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to invest in Koh Kong’s coastal islands, agreeing to road and bridge infrastructure funded by Thailand.
In October 2023, Vietnam pledged 3.7 billion US dollars to develop the Trilateral Economic Zone, including 1.7 billion for four Cambodian provinces. However, in November, journalist Soy Sopheap, seen as close to Hun Sen, announced that the project had been paused in favor of constructing the Techo Funan Canal.
As tensions rise, Thai authorities told reporters they are gathering evidence of Cambodian military activity near Phnom Mak Khoe in the Preah Vihear region, adjacent to Sisaket Province. Thai PBS reported on July 16 that Thai forces are monitoring structures such as tents, roads, stairways, and power lines being built inside Cambodian territory. The Thai military says these activities violate the 2000 MoU and plans to file formal protests with Cambodia’s border affairs office.
Despite Hun Manet’s assurances that legal steps have been taken with the ICJ, the Cambodian government has yet to release any official documentation of such filings to the public. Meanwhile, Thai forces continue to press their claims on the ground.
