KhmerTimes-July 7, 2025
The longstanding border disputes between Cambodia and Thailand have reignited with renewed intensity, as Cambodia boldly takes the fight to the International Court of Justice, invoking century-old colonial treaties and the MoU 2000, while Thailand clings stubbornly to settling the row through bilateral talks, revealing a deep impasse rooted not just in maps, but in national pride and geopolitical strategy. However, the MoU clearly stipulates that Cambodia and Thailand have to follow the treaties and maps agreed upon by Siam and the French administration representing Cambodia as its protectorate at the time. The border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand date back to the days of French colonization of Indochina, which at the time included Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. It began with military tensions between the French administration and Siam, which would become modern-day Thailand. Following the Paknam Incident of July 1893, in which French gunboats forced their way up the Chao Phraya River and came under fire from Siamese coastal defenses, tensions between France and Siam escalated into a full-scale diplomatic crisis. France responded with a naval blockade of Bangkok and issued an ultimatum demanding territorial concessions and other guarantees from Siam. Under intense pressure and the threat of further military action, the Siamese government agreed to negotiate and eventually signed a treaty with France on October 3, 1893. This treaty formalized Siam’s renunciation of all claims to territories east of the Mekong River, including the left bank of the river and the islands situated within it. These areas were to be permanently ceded to France and integrated into French Indochina, significantly expanding French territorial control in Southeast Asia, particularly in present-day Laos. Furthermore, the treaty prohibited Siam from building any military fortifications or maintaining armed forces within a 25-kilometre buffer zone along the western bank of the Mekong River. This demilitarized zone was intended to prevent future conflicts and ensure that France had uncontested influence over its newly acquired territory. Read more at: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501712904/cambodia-thailand-border-dispute-resolutions-hinge-on-agreements-stipulated-in-franco-siam-treaties/
