Thailand rebuts Cambodia at UN ECOSOC forum, says years of support met with attacks

Thailand used its right of reply at the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up 2026 on April 22, 2026, after the Cambodian representative referred to Thailand during the general debate.

Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Thailand’s Ambassador to the United Nations, said Thailand has consistently supported Cambodia’s peacebuilding, national reconstruction and development since Cambodia gained independence in 1953.

He said Thailand also provided refuge during Cambodia’s civil war in the 1970s, sheltering hundreds of thousands of Cambodians each day and more than one million people in total throughout the crisis. He added that Thailand supported the peace process under the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and Cambodia’s ASEAN membership in 1999, helping Cambodia return to the international community and the global economy.

Cherdchai said that since the Covid-19 period, Thailand has provided more than US$17 million in technical and development assistance through cooperation programmes and scholarships.

However, he said Thailand’s efforts had not been reciprocated in a positive way for bilateral relations.

He said Cambodia launched indiscriminate armed attacks on Thai territory in July and December 2025, resulting in 19 civilian deaths, 51 injuries, the evacuation of more than 400,000 people, and impacts on more than 400 hospitals. Thailand therefore had to exercise its right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, he said.

On landmines, the ambassador said that despite substantial international assistance for mine clearance, new mines have continued to be laid, turning border areas that should support development and economic activity into unsafe zones.

He also raised the issue of illicit financial flows, saying there is information indicating Cambodia is a base for online criminal and scam networks generating around US$19 billion a year—nearly 40% of the country’s GDP—causing financial damage to victims worldwide and linked to forced labour and human trafficking. He said resources were being diverted into crime rather than development.