Hun Manet calls for border demarcation and says US President Donald Trump\u2019s Board of Peace could \u2018play a role\u2019.<\/p>\n
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Thailand continues to occupy parts of Cambodia after multiple ceasefire agreements<\/a> ended months of deadly fighting late last year, Cambodia\u2019s prime minister has said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have Thai forces occupy[ing] deep into Cambodian territory in many areas. This is further beyond even Thailand\u2019s own unilateral claim,\u201d Hun Manet said in an interview with the Reuters news agency on Tuesday while travelling to Washington, DC, to attend a meeting of United States President Donald Trump\u2019s Board of Peace.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not an accusation, but it\u2019s a statement of the facts on the ground,\u201d he said in his first interview with international media since taking over<\/a> as prime minister from his father in 2023.<\/p>\n Thailand did not immediately respond to the claims. Thai military officials have previously said operations were limited to reclaiming areas within Thai territory.<\/p>\n Thai troops placed shipping containers and barbed wire inside areas that Thailand had previously recognised as Cambodian territory, he said, rendering about 80,000 people unable to return home.<\/p>\n The alleged encroachment occurred after Cambodia and Thailand\u2019s protracted border conflict last year killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, fuelled nationalistic<\/a> rhetoric and destroyed<\/a> ancient temple sites.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera reporting<\/a> and independent mapping<\/a> efforts have shown the presence of Thai-placed shipping containers and barbed wire in several provinces, including Pursat and Banteay Meanchey.<\/p>\n Hun Manet called upon Thailand to begin border demarcation through the countries\u2019 Joint Boundary Commission process, which lagged<\/a> before Thailand\u2019s national elections that saw a decisive win for Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Bhumjaithai Party.<\/p>\n \u201cNow the election is done, we hope that Thailand can start, at least on a technical level \u2026 demarcating in the hot zone, so that we can go back to life,\u201d Hun Manet said.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Board of Peace could \u201cplay a role in helping de-escalation and restoring peace and stability\u201d in Cambodia, he said, adding the group was a \u201cvaluable addition\u201d to existing international mechanisms.<\/p>\n