AKP Phnom Penh, July 24, 2025 --

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet has sent a letter over Thailand's hostilities to H.E. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, President of the Security Council for July 2025.

Samdech Thipadei mentioned in the letter dated July 24 to H.E. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad and other members of the United Nations Security Council about  the recent armed aggression against Cambodia by Thai military forces at the border between the Cambodia and Thailand, as follows:

"Since the early morning of July 24, 2025, Thai armed forces launched unprovoked, premeditated and deliberate attacks on Cambodian positions along the border areas, including Tamone Thom Temple, Ta Krabey Temple and Mom Bei, in the provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey.

Cambodia condemns in the strongest terms and expresses its profound indignation over the unprovoked and premeditated military aggression by the Kingdom of Thailand's armed forces. This military attack flagrantly violated the principle of non-aggression and peaceful resolution of disputes both of which are fundamental principles of international law, including the fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the ASEAN Charter, prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any State, as well as a total disregard of the spirit of good neighborliness that Cambodia has consistently strived to uphold up to now.

Facing this flagrant aggression, Cambodian troops had no option but to respond in self-defence in order to safeguard Cambodia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Cambodia calls on Thailand to immediately cease all hostilities, withdraw its forces to its side of the border, and refrain from any further provocative actions that could escalate the situation.

Allow me to recall that border tensions and armed hostilities continue to persist between Cambodia and Thailand, despite the existence of the Franco-Siamese Convention of 1904 and Treaty of 1907, as well as the maps produced by the Commission of Delimitation of the boundary between Indo-China and Siam set up under these two international instruments, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary (MOU-2000) in which both sides commit to jointly demarcate the land boundary between the two countries based on these legal documents.

As in earlier cases, the current border hostilities between the two countries stem from Thailand's insistence on claiming sovereignty over the border areas, using its unilaterally drawn map that lacks any legal basis, and contrarily to its commitment under the MOU-2000. As a pretext for the current armed aggression, Thailand also made baseless and unfounded allegations against Cambodia over the landmine explosion after Thai personnels deviated from the patrol routes previously coordinated between the two countries and created a new path through Cambodian territories, known to be officially documented mine-fields.

It is profoundly reprehensible that this act of aggression occurs while Cambodia is actively pursuing peaceful and impartial legal avenues to resolve outstanding border issues with Thailand through both bilateral and international mechanisms. As the international community is aware, the Royal Government of Cambodia has decided on 02 June 2025 to refer to the ICJ for adjudication on four disputed border areas - Mom Bei, Tamone Thom Temple, Tamone Touch Temple, and Ta Krabey Temple. This military escalation by Thailand takes place in spite of regional and international appeals for restraint and peaceful solutions and Cambodia's demonstrated commitment to dialogue, including our hosting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting in Phnom Penh on 14-15 June 2025.

Considering the recent extremely grave aggressions by Thailand, which have gravely threatened peace and stability in the region, I earnestly request you to convene an urgent meeting of the Security Council to stop Thailand's aggression. I would also highly appreciate it if you could circulate this letter to the members of the Security Council as a document of the Council."

By Heng Panha