A Cambodian policy analyst says the government should pursue closer diplomatic engagement with United States President Donald Trump if it hopes to secure lower tariffs on Cambodian exports to the American market.

Sek Socheat, a development and research adviser, told The Cambodia Daily on Friday that although Donald Trump recently lost a legal challenge in the United States Supreme Court over his tariff policies, the issue has not disappeared. According to Sek Socheat, Donald Trump has continued to raise tariffs on countries he chooses, regardless of the court ruling.

Sek Socheat argued that as long as Donald Trump remains in power in the United States, Cambodia needs to align its diplomatic approach with the direction of his administration.

The social observer also urged Cambodia to strengthen the rule of law to attract greater foreign investment. Increased investment, he said, would help expand Cambodia’s export capacity to the United States and other markets, benefiting both sides. Cambodia should also broaden its export destinations because the United States is not the country’s only market.

On March 4, Sun Chanthol, first vice chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, told local reporters during the 2026 ASEAN Cambodia Business Summit that a 19 percent retaliatory tariff imposed by the United States on Cambodian goods had been automatically removed following a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court. Cambodia now expects that any new tariff imposed by Washington will be lower than 19 percent.

Sun Chanthol said that after the 19 percent tariff was lifted, the United States applied a new additional duty of 15 percent under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This surcharge is added on top of the standard Most Favoured Nation tariff rate and applies to Cambodia as well as several other countries.

In late February, the international news agency Reuters reported that the United States Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump had exceeded his authority when imposing tariffs on imports from countries around the world.

In a six-to-three decision, the justices determined that the tariff policy affecting global imports into the United States violated economic law. The ruling means that tariffs imposed under that authority must be removed automatically.

Earlier, on April 2, 2025, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on several countries exporting goods to the United States. Cambodia was initially targeted with tariffs of 49 percent, though the rate was later reduced to 36 percent.

On July 31, 2025, the White House released its final tariff decision covering 70 countries trading with the United States. Cambodia’s rate was lowered again, from 36 percent to 19 percent.

Casey Barnett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, said on July 31 that if the United States reduced tariffs on Cambodian goods to around 20 percent or lower, it would significantly benefit Cambodia’s economy. However, if tariffs exceeded 25 percent, he warned, it could pose serious challenges for the country’s exports.

A former senior opposition official has said Cambodia stands to gain significantly if the government releases veteran opposition leader Kem Sokha and other jailed political and civil society figures.

Son Chhay, a former lawmaker from the now dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, said freeing Kem Sokha, along with Candlelight Party vice president Thach Setha, political activists, environmental campaigners, and detained union leaders, would bring substantial benefits to the country.

Writing on social media on Thursday, Son Chhay, who now serves as vice president of the Khmer Will Party, said one key advantage would be easing international pressure and improving Cambodia’s image on the global stage.

He argued that such a move could also promote national reconciliation. According to Son Chhay, releasing detainees could serve as a message of unity, helping to reduce domestic political tensions and rebuild trust among voters.

He added that reducing international pressure could provide Phnom Penh with valuable leverage in negotiations with Western countries, including the United States and members of the European Union. Improved diplomatic ties, he said, could translate into economic benefits.

Son Chhay also suggested that demonstrating progress on human rights and democracy would strengthen the legitimacy of the government led by Hun Manet in the eyes of the international community.

Separately, regional geopolitical analyst Seng Vanly wrote on February 18 that Cambodia’s political landscape remains uncertain at the start of 2026, particularly in light of the case against Kem Sokha. The opposition figure was sentenced in 2023 to 27 years under house arrest on charges widely criticised by rights groups.

Seng Vanly said keeping Kem Sokha under such restrictions continues to damage the government’s international standing and creates what he described as a legitimacy gap. He warned that this could affect trade preferences and relations with Western countries, which are key export markets for Cambodia.

He argued that releasing Kem Sokha could help restore diplomatic and economic ties with the United States and the European Union. That, he said, would be a positive signal for efforts to fully reinstate Cambodia’s preferential trade access under the Everything But Arms scheme and to avoid the risk of higher United States tariffs.

Civil society data released recently indicate that Kem Sokha is among 96 people described as unjustly detained, including opposition party officials, political activists, social campaigners, and human rights defenders.

The Cambodian government has consistently maintained that legal proceedings against opposition figures are conducted in accordance with the law.

Cambodia’s human rights chief has rejected claims that building temporary shelters for displaced residents amounts to recognising a loss of territory to Thailand.

Keo Remy, president of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, said suggestions circulating online were misleading. Writing on Facebook, he said land and homes allegedly seized by Thai troops remain Cambodian territory, and that the government has a duty to seek their return.

At the same time, he said, authorities must consider the immediate needs of displaced families, especially with the rainy season approaching.

Keo Remy said the government has repeatedly issued statements rejecting what it describes as unlawful incursions by Thai forces. He added that Cambodia is using diplomatic and legal channels to press its claims and seek the return of affected land and property.

He stressed that reclaiming territory is not a simple or short-term matter. If the process takes time, he said, the government cannot leave displaced citizens living under plastic tarpaulins for years or decades. Children, he noted, also require stable facilities for schooling.

“All Cambodians feel pain over the incursions,” he wrote, adding that leaders at every level are working without pause, including on public holidays, to address the situation and safeguard both territory and public welfare.

In late January 2026, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction convened a meeting to identify sites for temporary housing for families who lost their homes along the border after Thai troops allegedly occupied the areas.

Land Management Minister Say Sam Al said the designated sites are intended for residents who cannot yet return home, as well as for those currently staying in short-term safety centres while awaiting an opportunity to go back.

However, the shelter plan has drawn criticism on social media. Some users argue that establishing new housing sites could signal de facto acceptance of territorial loss.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Thai forces had unlawfully occupied 14 locations across four provinces. These include three areas in Banteay Meanchey, two in Pursat, three in Preah Vihear, and six in Oddar Meanchey.

Opposition figures dispute that number. They claim that during a 21-day conflict with Thailand, Cambodia lost more than 40 positions, affecting more than 110,000 people who, they say, have lost land, property, and homes.

The dispute underscores the broader tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border, where humanitarian needs and questions of sovereignty have become closely intertwined.

An observer has alleged that Thailand has incorporated several areas of Cambodian territory along the border into its own unilateral maps at a scale of 1 to 50,000, many of them described as strategically significant locations.

Meas Nee, a social development researcher, wrote on Facebook that in the two recent rounds of conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, Thai forces appeared to follow the contours of this 1 to 50,000 scale map when advancing into contested areas. He argued that the map has also been used domestically to fuel nationalist sentiment, encouraging Thai citizens to view areas marked on it as their own territory.

According to Meas Nee, what he described as Thailand’s first step in pushing the border inward has involved leveraging political tensions between former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and current prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul. He questioned whether a second phase could see cooperation between the two figures aimed at pressuring Cambodia to accept a newly drawn boundary based on Thailand’s map.

Whether such a strategy succeeds, he said, depends largely on how Cambodia’s government responds.

The comments come amid renewed debate over which maps should guide border demarcation between the two countries.

On October 23, 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet said both sides had agreed to continue technical discussions to carry out joint measurements and place temporary markers using 1 to 200,000 scale maps, in line with the 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty and related boundary commission records.

However, a day later, Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said the most recent meeting of the Cambodia Thailand Joint Boundary Commission had not reached any agreement on using the 1 to 200,000 scale maps or the 1907 treaty as a basis.

Opposition figures in Cambodia argue that Thailand’s unilateral maps, known as L7016, produced in 1971, and L7017, produced in 1984, both at a 1 to 50,000 scale, lack international recognition.

They say Cambodia’s strongest legal evidence lies in the annexed maps attached to the 1904 and 1907 Franco-Siamese treaties, drawn by French authorities in 1908 and currently archived in the United States. These consist of 18 sheets at a scale of 1 to 200,000 and are internationally recognised.

According to the opposition, Thailand’s unilateral maps differ significantly from the treaty annex maps in their depiction of the boundary. If the dispute were brought before the International Court of Justice, they argue, the court would rely on the treaty annex maps and disregard Thailand’s later maps.

Cambodia’s defence minister, Tea Seiha, said in early June 2025 that as long as Thailand continues to use a different map scale from Cambodia, the two countries will struggle to find common ground in maintaining border stability.

Thailand’s foreign ministry says it is closely monitoring the international diplomatic activities of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, particularly as he prepares to attend a meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington and seeks historical border documents from France.

The Thai newspaper The Nation quoted Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow as saying Bangkok is paying close attention to Hun Manet’s efforts to raise the Cambodia-Thailand border issue on international platforms.

According to the report, Thai officials are also reviewing Cambodia’s recent request to French President Emmanuel Macron for access to historical records related to the two countries’ shared border. Thailand has contacted France to seek further details, the minister said, adding that requesting such documents is the right of any sovereign state.

Sihasak said Thailand is likewise following Hun Manet’s overseas engagements, including a reported meeting with former United States president Donald Trump. Although Thailand is not participating in the upcoming Board of Peace meeting, he said Bangkok is monitoring developments carefully.

He added that Thailand stands ready to clarify the facts if any inaccurate information about the border dispute is presented internationally.

On February 14, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced that Hun Manet will attend the Board of Peace meeting on February 19, 2026, in Washington, United States.

The ministry described the meeting as the formal launch of the council’s mandate and part of broader efforts aimed at reconstruction and promoting peace in Gaza. Participating leaders are also expected to discuss wider issues of regional and global peace, stability, and development.

Cambodian officials said that beyond the Washington meeting, Hun Manet plans to travel to Europe, including visits to Geneva and Brussels, where he is expected to meet key leaders and stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and cooperation.

Observers suggest that the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute may surface during the Peace Council discussions, given Hun Manet’s presence. His European trip is also seen as potentially linked to efforts to secure historical documentation relevant to the border question.

Earlier, on February 5, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said Hun Manet had written to Emmanuel Macron in response to France’s stated willingness to provide historical and technical documents concerning the international boundary between Cambodia and Thailand, should Cambodia formally request them.

During a meeting on July 10, 2025, with Senate President Hun Sen, France’s ambassador to Cambodia, Jacques Pellet, expressed support for Cambodia’s position that the sensitive border issue should be resolved peacefully under international law, including through mechanisms of the International Court of Justice.

Cambodia says Thai troops are continuing what it calls acts of aggression along the disputed border, despite a second ceasefire agreement that came into effect on December 27, 2025.

In a statement released on February 16, 2026, Pen Bona, head of the Royal Government spokesperson unit, said Thai forces had continued to damage civilian infrastructure and government buildings inside Cambodian territory. He accused them of digging trenches, laying barbed wire, and placing shipping containers on Cambodian soil.

According to the statement, Thai troops have also prevented Cambodian villagers from returning to their homes.

Pen Bona said that although both sides had agreed to a ceasefire late last year, Thailand had failed to respect the agreement. He described the use of military force to occupy the territory of a sovereign state as a clear violation of the ASEAN Charter, the United Nations Charter, and international law.

He further alleged that the destruction of homes, looting of civilian property, and blocking of displaced residents from returning amounted to serious breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several international conventions. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Hague Convention of 1907.

The statement said the situation was causing severe hardship for displaced Cambodians, particularly women, children, older people, the sick, and people with disabilities. It cited rising poverty, disruption to education, and physical and psychological health problems among the consequences.

Thailand has rejected accusations of wrongdoing. On February 16, 2026, the Bangkok Post quoted acting prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul as saying he remained committed to defending Thailand’s territory, sovereignty, honour, and dignity, while prioritising the safety of Thai citizens.

International media have also been following the developments. On February 13, 2026, AFP, Reuters, and the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asia reported on the Cambodia-Thailand conflict, including damage to Preah Vihear temple and the deployment of barbed wire and shipping containers by Thai forces in villages in Banteay Meanchey province.

In its coverage, Reuters said displaced Cambodians were facing an uncertain future, as a surge in nationalist sentiment in Thailand increased pressure on both sides of the border.

A district governor in Kampong Cham province has instructed local officials to stop activists from collecting thumbprints for a petition to take Thailand to the International Court of Justice over a border dispute.

An audio recording, reportedly of Srey Santhor district governor Ben Lada, was circulated on Facebook on February 19, 2026. In the one-minute and 32-second clip, he can be heard directing commune chiefs and village leaders to prevent members of the Nation Power Party and other opposition groups from gathering signatures from residents.

According to the recording, Ben Lada describes the campaign as an excuse and a deception. He says such activities must not be allowed to take place in his district.

He adds that the Cambodian government is already paying close attention to allegations of Thai encroachment and that any decision to bring a border case before the International Court of Justice cannot be made arbitrarily.

The governor also states that if local authorities fail to stop the campaign, security forces should be deployed to suppress it and prevent it from continuing.

The controversy comes as a separate letter dated February 14, 2026, signed by police chief Sok Paochhim of Svay Por administrative police post, summoned Min Vuthy, a National Power Party official living in Tra village, Svay Por commune, to appear for questioning at 8.30 in the morning on February 15. The letter does not specify that the questioning relates to the thumbprint campaign, instead referring to a personal matter.

Man Nat, president of the Cambodian Watch Council, says the move amounts to a serious threat to citizens’ rights. He questions whether people are being denied the right to express patriotism and to take part in protecting national territory from alleged foreign encroachment, noting that filing a case has also been presented as a government objective.

Earlier this month, on February 10, 2026, Prime Minister Hun Manet told students who had achieved top grades that expressions of anger and pain over what he described as Thai incursions were not wrong, and that citizens have the right to freedom of expression.

Despite this, critics argue that the government, led by the ruling party, has often acted contrary to constitutional guarantees, at times threatening or arresting citizens who exercise their legal rights.

The Cambodia Daily has not yet been able to reach Ben Lada or Min Vuthy for comment.

Political observers say entrenched patronage networks and weak institutional oversight lie at the heart of corruption in Cambodia, as the country slips further down global rankings.

Seng Vanly, a geopolitical analyst focusing on Southeast Asia and the Pacific, wrote on Facebook on February 12, 2026, that many Cambodians at home and abroad had hoped the administration of Prime Minister Hun Manet, along with a new generation of foreign-educated ministers, would steer the country towards cleaner governance and a stricter rule of law.

Instead, he argued, the situation appears to be moving in the opposite direction.

Seng Vanly said the core problem is not academic credentials but political will. Even leaders with advanced degrees, he wrote, will struggle to curb corruption if they do not reform what he described as a patronage-based system. Without structural change, he said, corruption will continue to take root.

He added that once corruption becomes deeply embedded, the justice system also deteriorates. Cambodia’s courts, he noted, are widely perceived by the public as protecting those in power rather than upholding the law.

The analyst called for urgent reforms, including ensuring genuine independence for the Anti-Corruption Unit and the judiciary, expanding space for civil society and independent media, and ending what he described as a culture of patronage.

His comments come as Transparency International, based in Berlin, released its latest corruption index on February 10, 2026. Cambodia ranked 163rd out of 182 countries surveyed worldwide.

Among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cambodia ranked above only Myanmar. Singapore placed third globally with a score of 84. Malaysia ranked 54th with 52 points, and Timor-Leste 73rd with 44 points.

Vietnam ranked 81st with 41 points. Indonesia and Laos were tied at 109th with 34 points each. Thailand ranked 116th with 33 points, and the Philippines 120th with 32. Cambodia scored 20 points, while Myanmar ranked 169th with 16. Brunei was not included in the report.

In a separate statement released in February 2025 on its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International said Cambodia scored 21 out of 100. According to the latest data, the country has fallen five places, from 158th in 2024 to 163rd in 2025, with its score dropping from 21 to 20.

In December 2024, speaking at an event marking the National and International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, Hun Manet said Cambodia’s 2025 anti-corruption efforts would focus on improving public service delivery, strengthening governance mechanisms, and promoting transparency, to prevent corruption, abuse of power, and professional misconduct.

The latest rankings, however, have intensified debate over whether those commitments are translating into meaningful reform.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has pledged to revoke a 2001 memorandum of understanding signed with Cambodia, known as MoU44, saying steps will be taken to prepare for its formal cancellation.

According to Thai PBS, reporting on February 10, 2026, Anutin Charnvirakul has instructed relevant agencies to proceed with legal procedures aimed at terminating the agreement. Although the revocation may not occur immediately under the current Thai government, preparations are now underway.

The Thai Prime Minister stated that maintaining the agreement no longer serves Thailand’s interests and emphasized that any withdrawal would follow legal procedures.

The 2001 memorandum concerns the joint development of oil and gas resources in what is known as the Overlapping Claims Area in the Gulf of Thailand, a maritime zone claimed by both countries. Cambodia’s Secretariat of State for Border Affairs published details of the agreement on July 5, 2025, describing it as a framework for cooperation signed in June 2001 to manage resource development in disputed waters.

Competing claims over the area date back to the early 1970s. The agreement was seen at the time as a way to sidestep sovereignty disputes while allowing energy exploration to move forward.

Separately, a memorandum signed on June 14, 2000, commonly referred to as the 2000 MoU, addresses the surveying and demarcation of the land border between Cambodia and Thailand. According to Cambodia’s border authorities, the agreement consists of nine articles and refers to earlier Franco-Siamese treaties of 1904 and 1907 as the legal basis for land boundary demarcation.

Some analysts argue that the overlapping maritime zone of about 26,000 square kilometres lies within a broader 30,000 square kilometre area that Thailand claimed following a 1997 bilateral agreement with Vietnam. That agreement was based on a 1982 treaty on historic waters concluded during the period when Vietnam maintained a strong presence in Cambodia.

The same analysts contend that of the 30,000 square kilometres of maritime territory at issue, around 4,000 square kilometres were claimed by Thailand without direct negotiation with Cambodia, while the remaining 26,000 square kilometres continue to be treated as disputed waters between the two countries.

At the time of publication, The Cambodia Daily said it had not yet been able to reach Cambodia’s government spokesperson for comment on Thailand’s pledge to revoke the 2001 memorandum.

The future of the agreement now adds a new layer of uncertainty to long-standing maritime and border disputes between the two neighbours, with potential implications for energy development and bilateral relations.