Cambodia Protests Thai Inspection of Hotel Site in | RSS.com
Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a strong protest against Thailand over what it says was an unauthorized inspection of a hotel site in Banteay Meanchey province, calling the move a serious violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty.
In a statement released on February 3 and made public on Wednesday, the ministry said the visit took place in O Smach district under the leadership of the head of Thai military intelligence, without permission from the Cambodian government.
According to the statement, the Thai official led a group of foreign military attachés to inspect a hotel and nearby locations close to border marker number 15, around 397 metres from the O Smach international border crossing. Cambodia says the area is on its territory but is currently under illegal occupation by Thai forces.
The ministry said the inspection amounted to a grave breach of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, noting that the site lies within Cambodian territory near the border marker.
It added that the area was seized by Thai forces using military force during what it described as an incursion into Cambodia between December 7 and December 27, 2025.
Cambodia said it firmly rejects and condemns the actions of the Thai military, including what it called Thailand’s unlawful exercise of authority through organising the visit. The ministry said the move violated the United Nations Charter and the ASEAN Charter, and accused Thailand of attempting to legitimise its occupation of Cambodian sovereign territory.
Thailand’s Khaosod newspaper reported on February 2, 2026, that the head of Thai military intelligence had led foreign military attachés from 20 countries, along with officials from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, to inspect sites suspected of being involved in cross border scam operations along the Thai Cambodian border.
The director general of Thai military intelligence, Thiranan Nanta Kwang, was quoted as saying the visit was part of an open mission aimed at informing the international community about cross border crime in the Chong Chom O Smach border area of Surin province.
However, Kin Phea, president of the Institute of International Relations at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, dismissed the explanation. He said the Thai military was using crime prevention as a pretext to reframe what he described as a territorial war against Cambodia into an anti scam operation, and warned that similar tactics could be used against other neighbouring countries, including Laos and Myanmar.
