Most Thais trust military to resolve Cambodia border dispute: NIDA poll

A majority of Thai citizens place more trust in the military than in the government when it comes to handling the ongoing border dispute with Cambodia, according to a recent survey.

The poll was conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA Poll) from June 9 to 11, sampling 1,310 respondents aged 18 and over from across all regions, educational backgrounds, occupations and income levels nationwide.When asked which sectors they trusted to protect the national interest in the Thai-Cambodian conflict (multiple answers allowed), the results were as follows:


Thai military:


62.52% said they had a high level of trust
23.74% said they had moderate trust
8.85% said they had little trust
4.89% said they had no trust at all
 


Thai government:

37.48% said they had no trust at all
31.68% said they had little trust
18.85% said they had moderate trust
11.99% said they had a high level of trust
 


Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

35.42% said they had little trust
30.76% said they had no trust at all
22.90% said they had moderate trust
10.46% said they had a high level of trust


The survey also gauged public satisfaction with the roles played by various sectors in resolving the Thai-Cambodian border conflict (multiple answers allowed):


Thai military:


61.76% said they were very satisfied
23.97% said they were somewhat satisfied
10.30% said they were not very satisfied
3.97% said they were not satisfied at all
 


Thai government:

37.94% said they were not satisfied at all
30.99% said they were not very satisfied
20.76% said they were somewhat satisfied
10.31% said they were very satisfied
 


Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

35.73% said they were not very satisfied
29.00% said they were not satisfied at all
24.96% said they were somewhat satisfied
10.31% said they were very satisfied




When asked whether they supported the lyrics in the Thai national anthem that state “Thais love peace, but are not cowardly when it comes to war”, the responses were:


69.39% said they strongly supported the statement
19.24% said they somewhat supported it
7.02% said they supported it only slightly
3.05% said they did not support it at all


Regarding the level of nationalism among Thai citizens:


48.24% said they had a strong sense of nationalism
31.60% said their nationalism depended on the situation
14.20% said they had a moderate sense of nationalism
3.67% said they had little nationalism
2.29% said they had no nationalism at all

(2025/06/15-00:00)