Cambodia has firmly rejected comments by Thailand’s foreign minister suggesting that Phnom Penh had postponed negotiations over the two countries’ border dispute until after the traditional New Year holiday.
In a statement released on Thursday, Pen Bona, head of the Royal Government Spokesperson Unit, said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet had never announced or posted on social media that talks through the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission would be delayed until after the New Year celebrations.
Pen Bona said Cambodia had not requested any delay and remained committed to moving the negotiations forward as quickly as possible. The government, he added, has authorised the Joint Boundary Commission to accelerate its work to resolve border issues and ensure long-term peace along the frontier between the two countries.
The spokesperson also said that since a second ceasefire took effect on December 27, Cambodia’s Secretariat of Border Affairs, representing the Joint Boundary Commission, had formally contacted Thailand five times. In those communications, Cambodia asked the Thai side to send a joint survey team to carry out field measurements along sections of the border.
According to Pen Bona, Thailand repeatedly asked to postpone the process.
The comments came after the Thai newspaper The Nation quoted Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on March 10 as saying that Hun Manet had posted a message indicating that negotiations on the return of disputed border areas would take place only after the Khmer New Year festival, also known as Songkran.
Cambodia’s Secretariat of Border Affairs had earlier issued a statement on February 24 saying that the Cambodian side of the Joint Boundary Commission had sent a diplomatic note to Thailand for the third time on February 23. The note proposed holding a commission meeting during the second week of March 2026.
However, the Thai side has not yet responded to the proposal, according to Cambodian officials. Thailand had previously requested to postpone meetings twice, citing preparations for parliamentary elections and the formation of a new government.
On December 27, 2025, after the third special meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee, both sides issued a joint statement agreeing that the Joint Boundary Commission would continue technical work on border demarcation as soon as possible in accordance with existing agreements.
Reuters reported on March 11 that Thailand’s newly elected parliament is scheduled to convene officially on March 14 following general elections held in early February. A vote to elect the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament is expected to take place on March 15.
Thailand’s new administration is widely expected to begin formally taking office in April.
