🇹🇭Thailand · UNGA 81 speech

Thank you, Mr. President. My delegation would like to exercise its right of reply in response to the statement made by the delegation of Cambodia. More than nine months have passed since the ceasefire came into effect. It is deeply regrettable that Cambodia continues to disseminate unfounded allegations against Thailand. Such actions contradict what the Prime Minister of Thailand and Cambodia agreed upon in Cebu during the ASEAN Summit and represent yet another attempt to portray Thailand in a negative light. These accusations are not new, nor are they supported by the facts. In fact, the facts tell a very different story. They compel us to recall how this conflict came about in the first place. When Cambodia leaked a private telephone conversation between our leaders, when Thai soldiers lost their limbs to newly planted Cambodian landmines, and when Cambodian rockets struck Thai territory and killed innocent Thai civilians including women and children. The ensuing conflict brought immense suffering to the peoples on both sides. In Thailand, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by the hostilities, and the Thai government provided them with shelter and assistance. But let me set the record straight. The Cambodian displaced persons, including the remaining 20,000 internally displaced persons as referenced by Cambodia, were in fact Cambodians residing in areas that Thailand originally opened as temporary shelters in the 1970s. This is well documented. Cambodia knows it, so do we. Their failure to return to Cambodia, despite our repeated protests, constitutes an encroachment on Thai territory. Mr. President, dialogue and diplomacy have always been Thailand's first choice. We remain fully committed to the ceasefire agreement and continue to exercise the utmost restraint. all measures undertaken by the Thai authorities are fully consistent with the joint statement agreed by both sides on 27 of December 2025. We wanted to give bilateral dialogue with Cambodia a chance to resolve our differences over the maritime boundary. However, Cambodia chose a different path by pursuing the compulsory conciliation. Thailand nevertheless continues and will continue to engage constructively in that process in the hope that it can serve as a confidence-building measure between our two countries. As reiterated by our Prime Minister, our shared border with Cambodia should and must be a place of prosperity, not one defined by the scars of conflict. Hence, our priority is to turn the page and move forward. We must therefore ask, when will Cambodia break free from this vicious cycle, move forward, and join us in opening a new chapter in our relations? And for this to happen, Thailand expects genuine sincerity from Cambodia. That begins with demonstrating goodwill in international forums, refraining from provocative action along the border, and pursuing concrete cooperation to ensure border security, particularly through humanitarian demining and joint efforts to combat cross-border crime, including, of course, online scams. Mr. President, Thailand and Cambodia are neighbors. We cannot change that geography. Certainly, we can choose what kind of neighbors we want to be. Our shared responsibility is to move forward with trust and confidence in pursuit of lasting and durable peace. I thank you.