(Cebu): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reaffirmed Cambodia’s commitment to peaceful dialogue and border stability following a trilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Cebu, the Philippines.
Speaking at a joint press conference on Thursday (May 7), Prime Minister Hun Manet said both sides shared a collective resolve for lasting peace and agreed to restore trust and normalize bilateral relations following recent border tensions.
“Our discussions focused on the escalations and trust-building measures to restore and consolidate a functioning framework for lasting peace and renormalised relations. We discussed the resumption of all existing mechanisms, namely the JBC, GBC, and RBC, as the new government of Thailand has assumed its full functionality,” said the prime minister.
Samdech Thipadei underlined that Cambodia highly appreciated the important role of ASEAN Observer Team (AOT), and thanks ASEAN member states for their continued support and contributions. He added that Cambodia welcomed the Philippines' assumption of its leadership from Malaysia. Cambodia has extended full cooperation and called for strengthened role of AOT to verify and ensure the implementation of the ceasefire and all agreed measures.
The two prime ministers also highlighted the importance of people-to-people exchanges, including through the Cambodian-Thailand Friendship Association as a complementary pillar in rebuilding trust and promoting mutual understanding. Moving forward, both leaders have tasked our two foreign ministers to engage in further discussions in detail and carry them forward in a practical and result-orientated manner.
Samdech Thipadei reaffirmed that borders cannot be changed nor determined by force or through 'fait accompli' and called for the full and immediate implementation of Joint Statement of 27 December in its entirety, in particular point 3, which calls for prompt resumption of JBC survey and demarcation work by JBC in accordance with existing agreement without further delay.
“We believe that this mechanism will be essential to ensure the end of the practise of 'fait accompli' on the ground and to guarantee that sovereignty, territorial integrity and international boundary are respected and according with international law and existing treaties and agreements, thereby fostering trust and bringing about lasting peace between our two countries,” he said.
The leaders also discussed future approaches to overlapping maritime claims following Cambodia’s decision to initiate compulsory conciliation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) after Thailand’s withdrawal from the 2001 memorandum of understanding.
“Cambodia believes this is a peaceful path toward a fair solution for both parties,” said Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet, reaffirming Cambodia’s commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law and existing agreements, including the commitments affirmed in the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration of 26 October 2025 and the Joint Statement of 27 December 2025.
“Cambodia stands ready to move forward constructively, swiftly and in good faith,” he added.
=FRESH NEWS
