Phnom Penh: Cambodia will not include the border dispute over the Mom Bei area and the Temples of Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Tauch, and Ta Krabey on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC), as the country has already decided to refer the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, the decision was made with the aim of securing a fair, impartial, and sustainable solution, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) underlined in a statement released on June 5. "Cambodia expresses its hope that Thailand will cooperate in jointly referring this case to the ICJ, in the spirit of fairness, trust-building, long-term friendship and good neighbourliness. Nevertheless, should cooperation not be forthcoming, Cambodia stands prepared to proceed independently," read the statement.
At the same time, it added, the RGC remains committed to dialogue and diplomacy. Cambodia will continue to engage through existing bilateral frameworks and will host the next JBC meeting on June 14, 2025, in Phnom Penh.
Furthermore, the Royal Government urges all Cambodians to approach this issue with calm and restraint, and to refrain from turning it into a matter of ethnic or nationalist sentiment. "We emphasise the importance of maintaining normal relations with Thailand, especially in trade, tourism, and broader areas of cooperation, for the mutual benefit of our peoples," the statement concluded.
It should be recalled that in the early hours of May 28, 2025, at approximately 05:30 a.m., an armed incident occurred when Thai military forces opened fire on a Cambodian army position in Techo Morokot village, Morokot commune, Choam Khsan district, Preah Vihear province - an area long recognised as a Cambodian military post. This exchange tragically resulted in the death of a Cambodian soldier.