Cambodia Objects to Thailand's Buddha Statue Placement in Border Region

Cambodia has formally protested against what it calls ongoing breaches of its territorial sovereignty by Thai military forces operating near the shared border, citing the recent placement of a Buddha statue in Oddar Meanchey province as the latest example.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement on September 21 detailing how Thai soldiers, accompanied by Buddhist monks, erected the statue on September 18 at Phnom Beng in Anlong Veng district, situated between border markers No. 2 and No. 3.

Phnom Penh characterized these activities as deliberate efforts to establish facts on the ground and strengthen what it views as an unlawful occupation of Cambodian land through the use of physical structures and religious imagery.

The foreign ministry emphasized that such actions contravene Cambodia's territorial sovereignty as defined by the 1:200,000-scale boundary map created by the Franco-Siamese Boundary Commission under the 1904 Franco-Siamese Convention and the subsequent 1907 treaty.

Officials also pointed to violations of the June 14, 2000 Memorandum of Understanding between both governments regarding border survey and demarcation, as well as the first point of the Joint Statement from the Third Special Meeting of the General Border Committee held on December 27, 2025.

Cambodia firmly rejected any unilateral border determinations or territorial assertions made by Thailand, stressing that such violations do not diminish Cambodia's legitimate claims to its internationally recognized boundaries.

The Cambodian authorities called on Thailand to halt all such unauthorized activities immediately, refrain from taking unilateral measures, and work toward reducing tensions while fostering mutual trust and peaceful relations along their common border.