October 22, 2025
CHANTHABURI – A two-day meeting of the Joint Border Committee (JBC) got underway in in Thailand’s Chanthaburi province today, October 21. Hong Raksmey
Cambodia and Thailand opened a two-day meeting of the Joint Border Committee (JBC) in Thailand’s Chanthaburi province today at noon to review progress on ongoing boundary work and follow up on key issues raised in previous sessions.
According to the Cambodian State Secretariat of Border Affairs (SSBA), the agenda includes three main items: reviewing outcomes of the 6th JBC meeting held in Phnom Penh on June 14–15, following up on priority issues submitted by the General Border Committee (GBC) during its special meeting in Koh Kong on September 10 — particularly concerning Chouk Chey village — and other related matters.
The two sides are holding closed and plenary sessions today, with the agenda expected to be formally approved during the plenary meeting.
The Cambodian delegation is led by JBC chair Lam Chea, Minister in Charge of the SSBA, accompanied by representatives from relevant ministries and border provinces.
The Thai side is headed by Prasas Prasasvinitchai, advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Thailand-Cambodia Land Border Joint Committee, along with senior officials.
The meeting comes four months after the first JBC session in Phnom Penh — the first in more than a decade — which took place amid rising tensions that later escalated into armed confrontation between border troops.
During the June session, co-chaired by Chea and Prasasvinitchai, the two sides focused on mapping and survey progress along the two countries’ 800-kilometre frontier.
Delegates reviewed 74 boundary pillars, agreed on 45 confirmed locations and adopted Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and orthophoto technologies to accelerate demarcation work.
Cambodia described the June talks as productive and cooperative, reaffirming that the border issue should continue to be handled through bilateral mechanisms under the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding.
Cambodia also reiterated its rejection of a unilaterally drawn Thai map, saying it cannot serve as a reference for official survey work.
Disputed areas such as Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Touch, Ta Krabei and the Mom Bei (Emerald Triangle) zone remain outside the JBC’s immediate scope, with Phnom Penh maintaining that those cases should be addressed through the International Court of Justice (ICJ).