Thailand Can Close Its Border with Cambodia up to 500 Years – Hun Sen
Phnom Penh (4 November 2025): In response to Thai Prime Minster counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul’s recent comment of the border reopening with Cambodia, Cambodian Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen has reiterated on Tuesday that to his people saying that ”…. ever since Thailand unilaterally closed the border, Cambodia has never asked Thailand to reopen it. If Thailand wants to keep it closed for another 100 or even 500 years, that is entirely their decision. After all, the key is in Thailand’s hands.”
Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit, Thai Minister of Defence, on Tuesday also told journalists in Bangkok that no negotiation on border issue until Cambodia returns Ta Krabei Temple in Banteay Ampil District of Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province to Thailand.
In his reaction, Hun Sen said the repeated remarks by Thai leadership, including the Prime Minister, regarding the reopening of border checkpoints have caused confusion among the Cambodian and Thai public, leading some to believe that Cambodia has requested Thailand to reopen the border.
“I do not want the Cambodian people to go to bed with this misleading information. For the Thai public, it is an internal matter that may be exploited for election purposes, with the reopening of the border potentially being used as an election campaign topic,” Hun said adding that Cambodia is not pleading for the reopening of border checkpoints….the Cambodian people will not be misled into thinking that their government is lowering itself to request Thailand’s cooperation on reopening the border. Chhay Sophal
“Since the signing of the Joint Statement between Cambodia and Thailand by the Prime Ministers of both countries, facilitated by the Malaysian Prime Minister in his capacity as ASEAN Chair and U.S. President Donald Trump as the Peace Envoy, we have observed notable progress. This includes the convening of the JBC and RBC meetings, as well as the initial withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the disputed area, under the supervision and verification of the ASEAN Observers Team (AOT). This marks a step toward ending or easing tensions between the two countries, a development we should all celebrate.