On June 15, Ambassador Prasas Prasatvinitchai, head of Thailand’s Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), and Mr. Lam Chea, Minister in charge of Border Affairs and Head of Cambodia’s National Border Affairs Secretariat, co-chaired the closing ceremony of the 6th Thai-Cambodian JBC meeting and signed the joint minutes in Phnom Penh.

The discussions were smooth and cordial, with both sides expressing appreciation for the successful meeting. They emphasized the importance and effectiveness of the JBC as the main bilateral mechanism for negotiating border issues. This meeting marked a significant step in demarcating the Thai-Cambodian border, approximately 800 kilometers in length, and helped ease tensions along the frontier. Both parties acknowledged the need for continued discussions and cooperation. Thailand will host the next special JBC session in September.

Currently, Thailand and Cambodia maintain border cooperation through three key mechanisms:

  1. JBC – the primary bilateral platform for technical and legal discussions.
  2. General Border Committee (GBC) – a high-level bilateral security mechanism co-chaired by the defense ministers of both countries.
  3. Regional Border Committee (RBC) – a regional military-level mechanism, co-chaired by area commanders, focusing on local-level management and conflict resolution.

Meanwhile, the Khmer Times reported that Cambodia’s Border Affairs Secretariat issued a statement on the JBC meeting outcomes. It said the meeting agreed to four agenda points:

  1. Review and approve the minutes from the 4th Thai-Cambodian Joint Technical Sub-Commission (JTSC) held on July 14, 2024, in Siem Reap
  2. Discuss updating the 2003 Terms of Reference on creating an orthophoto map
  3. Approve sending a joint survey team to demarcate the agreed border points on the ground
  4. Continue discussion on the sixth survey segment, previously noted in JBC’s 4th session and the 2009 special session

Mr. Lam Chea told Ambassador Prasas that in order to fairly and permanently resolve the border dispute, Cambodia urged Thailand to cooperate in submitting the four disputed areas—Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch, Ta Krabei, and Chhong Bok (Mumbai)—to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He reaffirmed Cambodia’s position to initiate legal proceedings independently, even if Thailand does not accept ICJ jurisdiction.

Additionally, Cambodia declared that from now on, these four disputed areas will no longer be subjects for discussion under the JBC framework.

Lam Chea added that aside from these four sites, Cambodia remains committed to cooperating with Thailand through the JBC for ongoing border demarcation using legal documents and agreements, particularly the 2000 MOU and the 1:200,000-scale map referenced in the 1904 and 1907 Franco-Siamese treaties.

Cambodia also rejected the use of any maps created unilaterally by Thailand, asserting that such practices have caused prolonged conflicts in the past and could continue to do so in the future.

Although the meeting included these contentious elements, it was described as friendly, with an atmosphere of openness and constructive dialogue. Both parties signed the joint minutes and agreed to reconvene in September 2025.