Army clarifies RBC meeting ongoing, Cambodia seeks talks with Hun Manet

The Royal Thai Army clarified on Thursday that the Regional Border Committee (RBC) secretary team meeting had not collapsed, with the First Army Region revealing that Thailand proposed three additional points, but Cambodia could not decide and requested to consult with Prime Minister Hun Manet.

The secretary meeting was originally scheduled to take place at the 19th Military District, Sa Kaeo, at 2.00pm. Maj Gen Suravich Daengchan, of the First Army Region, was set to chair the Thai secretary team, alongside representatives from Cambodia’s Fifth Military Region.

The discussion was meant to address 13 points from the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 7. The goal was to further solidify agreements and discuss additional measures for border issue resolution and maintaining peace between the two countries. 

These agreements were intended to pave the way for drafting a memorandum of understanding at Friday’s larger RBC meeting, with Lt Gen Amarit Boonsuya, commander of the First Army Region, chairing the Thai side and the commander of the Fifth Military Region leading the Cambodian side.However, due to the failure of the secretary meeting today, many are now questioning whether the RBC meeting scheduled for tomorrow will face a delay, just like the Second Army Region meeting, which was pushed back from August 21 to August 27 by Cambodia.

Notably, Cambodia did not notify Thailand of its absence in advance. The Thai side waited until 5.00pm, with staff still present in the meeting room. Despite this, food boxes were ordered for the team, and media personnel were informed that Cambodia's delegation had yet to arrive. Some members of the press began leaving after waiting throughout the afternoon. 

It was suggested that Thailand set a deadline and inform Cambodia that if they fail to attend, the international community and observers should be made aware that Thailand had made every effort to conduct the RBC meeting as a follow-up to the GBC from Malaysia, while Cambodia was responsible for the delay.



Later, the First Army Region's Public Relations Facebook page posted a clarification stating that the RBC meeting had not collapsed and was still reviewing the documents. 

The meeting discussed and confirmed the implementation of the 13 agreements from the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting in Malaysia. Additionally, the Thai side proposed three additional points, bringing the total to 16 points, including:


Jointly clearing landmines
Collaborating to combat scammers
Correctly demarcating border areas


However, the Cambodian side did not immediately accept the additional proposals and needed to discuss them further with their leadership (Hun Manet).

Following this, the secretary teams from both sides will meet again to discuss the proposals. If an agreement is reached, both parties will sign and present it at the larger RBC meeting on Friday.

Deputy Royal Thai Army spokesman Col Ritcha Suksuwanon confirmed that the First Army Region's checks revealed that the RBC secretary-level meeting, held today at 7.00pm, continued through telecommunication and email discussions as arranged by Cambodia.

He confirmed that the process is still ongoing at the 19th Military District and that the meeting had not been cancelled.

(2025/08/21-00:00)