Royal Thai Armed Forces affirm Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Thai territory
Thai armed forces reaffirm Ban Nong Ya Kaew lies inside Thai territory, citing certified boundary posts and JBC records despite Cambodian claims.
The Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters affirmed on Monday that Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Sa Kaeo’s Khok Sung district lies within Thai territory, based on the boundary line drawn between boundary posts No. 42 and 43.
Maj Gen Withai Laithomya, spokesman for the Royal Thai Armed Forces, said the survey results of the two boundary posts were certified at the Joint Boundary Commission’s (JBC) sixth meeting on June 14, 2025.
Withai explained that although the boundary line between the two posts had not been fully surveyed, the charts showing posts No. 42 and 43 were in accordance with the procès-verbal and the memorandum of understanding of 2000 (BE 2543).
He added that the procès-verbal and charts for the two posts dated back to agreements between Siam (Thailand) and French Indochina (which then included Cambodia) in 1908 and 1909, when trees marked with metal plates were originally used as boundary markers. Between 1919 and 1920, these wooden markers were replaced with concrete posts.
According to Withai, posts No. 42 and 43 were among 74 boundary posts surveyed jointly by Thailand and Cambodia since 2006. Post No. 42 was surveyed between October 2 and 29, 2006, but the two countries disputed its precise location by about 80 metres. Post No. 43 was surveyed between November 8 and December 12 of the same year. It was found to be buried underground, so both sides agreed to install a temporary marker in its place.
Withai stressed that despite the discrepancy over the exact location of post No. 42, Ban Nong Ya Kaew lies well inside Thai territory and far behind the line claimed by Cambodia.
