Thai military readies maximum response if Hun Sen escalates conflict
Thai officials said forces are on highest alert and will respond to any further incursions, while awaiting an official foreign ministry statement on ceasefire talks.
- The Thai military is preparing for a potential escalation of conflict in response to remarks by Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen signaling a prolonged dispute.
- A Royal Thai Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the military is ready to "operate at the highest level" if Cambodia elevates the border clashes into a full-scale war.
- Thai officials state they are prepared to act to protect the public and will continue to respond to any further incursions to defend national sovereignty.
- Thailand asserts its military actions are legitimate and consistent with international law, rejecting Cambodian accusations and propaganda.
At the Joint Press Centre on the Thai–Cambodian situation, at the Royal Thai Army Radio and Television Station, ACM Prapas Sonjaidee, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force and director of the briefing centre, responded on Monday (December 22) to remarks by Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Senate President, who has signalled a prolonged conflict with Thailand.
Prapas said the comments should be taken seriously because they came from Cambodia’s senior leadership and were intended to shape public belief inside Cambodia.
He stressed, however, that ordinary Cambodians and Thais were not in conflict with each other.
He insisted Thailand’s military operations were legitimate and consistent with international law, rejecting accusations that Thai forces used “human shields” or employed weapons in civilian areas.
“Propaganda and rhetoric are not what the world trusts,” he said, adding that the international community would judge the situation based on facts and international law.
Prapas said Thailand did not need to trade rhetoric, but would stick to principle.
He added that Thailand’s leaders and armed forces were ready to act to protect the public, and that if there were further incursions, Thailand would respond appropriately and continue doing so until Cambodia accepted Thailand’s proposals.
Asked about the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia and reports that Cambodia had proposed a ceasefire at 10pm on Monday, Prapas said the situation was not complicated but urged the media to wait for an official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said security agencies were closely monitoring developments, while frontline troops remained in control of their areas despite ongoing risks.
He added that previous ceasefire claims had been followed by continued clashes and ambushes, which raised questions about sincerity, and said the military’s actions were being carried out in line with government policy.
Asked whether Thailand and Cambodia would discuss the situation at the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday (December 24), Prapas said discussions should proceed through established mechanisms, but again said the public should follow the Foreign Ministry’s official position, adding that the current process involved taking verified facts into international political channels.
AM Chakkrit Thammavichai, the Royal Thai Air Force spokesperson, said that if Hun Sen sought to elevate border clashes into “war, it would be a highly significant development.
He said Thailand did not need to publicly detail what it had prepared, but the public should be confident that the Thai military was ready to operate at the highest level, drawing on lessons from past incidents.
Meanwhile, Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed that Thailand’s actions had been legitimate since the clashes began and would remain so as Thailand continued to defend its sovereignty.
She said Thailand was still awaiting Cambodia’s acceptance of three conditions under which Cambodia, described by Thailand as the side that encroached on Thai sovereignty and initiated the situation, would cease fire first, paving the way for a broader ceasefire and mine clearance.
