The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) of Cambodia has launched its most significant diplomatic offensive of 2026, lodging multiple formal protests against the Royal Thai Armed Forces. These protests center on what Phnom Penh describes as a calculated campaign of “territorial expansion” through illegal construction and strategic delays.

A Pattern of “Unlawful” Infrastructure

According to a formal protest statement issued by the MFAIC, Cambodian authorities have documented a series of violations occurring between February and March 2026. The government asserts that Thai military and civilian teams have engaged in:

• Preah Vihear Temple: Unlawful excavation and construction of a guard post and road on the temple’s promontory, violating the 1962 and 2013 ICJ rulings.
• Religious Encroachment: The construction of a massive Buddha statue in the Bosbov-Choam Tae area (Preah Vihear province), which Cambodia views as a “soft power” attempt to establish physical presence in contested zones.
• Ta Krabey Temple: Installation of permanent concrete roads, steep stairways, and additional Buddha statues intended to turn the military-occupied site into a “tourist zone.”
• Oddar Meanchey Province: The placement of Thai flags and construction of concrete roads in Chob Angkunh and Derm Trang.

Cambodia argues these activities directly violate Article 5 of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which strictly prohibits any physical or environmental alterations in border areas that have not yet been demarcated.

Rejection of the “Post-New Year” Narrative

Phnom Penh has also moved to dismantle a narrative emerging from Bangkok that Prime Minister Hun Manet agreed to delay border talks until after the Khmer New Year. Government Spokesperson Pen Bona reiterated on March 11 that the Prime Minister has never made such a statement.

Instead, Cambodia revealed that its State Secretariat of Border Affairs has submitted five separate requests via diplomatic notes to the Thai side since late December, urging for the immediate dispatch of joint survey teams. The spokesperson described the Thai claims as a “smoke screen” designed to give the Thai military more time to complete its controversial permanent fence in Chanthaburi.

Humanitarian Crisis and International Appeals

The diplomatic friction is unfolding against a backdrop of a massive humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister Hun Manet recently used a visit to Washington to highlight that 80,000 displaced Cambodians are being blocked from returning to their homes by Thai shipping containers and military barricades.

Furthermore, the discovery of over 1,300 bombs dropped by Thai forces around the Preah Vihear Temple complex during the 2025 conflict has fueled Cambodian public anger. Cambodia has warned that it will not accept a “fait accompli” created by unilateral military force and is prepared to bring the matter back to the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice.