Cambodia agrees to join GBC meeting in Chanthaburi
Cambodia agrees to join GBC secretarial talks in Chanthaburi. Thailand will press alleged violations; Dec 27 minister-level meeting may be cancelled.
Cambodia has dropped its earlier demand and agreed to join the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting in Chanthaburi, where the GBC secretarial talks are due to begin on Wednesday afternoon.
The Ministry of Defence said the Cambodian GBC side had agreed to attend the meeting in Chanthaburi after previously calling for it to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The ministry said Gen Nattapong Praokaew, deputy joint chief of staff and secretary of the Thai GBC, will meet his Cambodian counterpart at 4pm on Wednesday, as the four-day GBC secretarial meeting gets under way.
The full GBC meeting, chaired by the two countries’ defence ministers, is scheduled for December 27 to approve draft agreements prepared by the secretarial talks.
According to the Ministry of Defence, Thailand will demand that Cambodia acknowledge it has violated international rules during the ongoing border clashes, including allegations of:
- possessing and using anti-personnel landmines
- using historical sites as military bases
- using communities as bases to fire heavy weapons, or moving heavy weapons back into communities after firing
- using civilian buildings as bases and weapons depots (including buildings linked to online scammers)
- using civilians as human shields, with the intention of filing complaints against Thailand when civilians are killed
The ministry said if the Thai side fails to agree key technical frameworks—such as force positions and ceasefire details—during the secretarial talks, the full GBC meeting on December 27 will be cancelled.
