After Thai media reported Thursday that 18 Cambodian soldiers who have been in Thai custody for more than three months following a deadly five-day border conflict in July were set to be released on Nov. 12, a Thai Army spokesperson quickly clarified the date was only under consideration pending conditions being met.
Many of the prisoners’ families, some of whom traveled to Phnom Penh to await their arrival after an expanded ceasefire agreement signed in late October that formalized their release, remain in limbo.
Members of four families who spoke with CamboJA News said they had not received any information from the Cambodian government about the possible release next week.
Korn Saichai, 26, the wife of one of the soldiers, said this was not the first time she had felt strung along about her husband’s release.
“We will keep waiting, as it has been a long time already. If they [the Thai side] keep tricking us like this, then we are forced to feel helpless,” she said, adding that other wives had gone days without eating due to the stress.
Saichai also said that on Oct. 26, she and the 17 other families traveled to Phnom Penh after being told by the government that their husbands would be released that day. But by Nov. 2, they had not seen their loved ones and decided to return home to finish their crop harvest.
Thai Army spokesperson Winthai Suvaree told Thai media Thursday that the reported handover next week at the Ban Phak Kat checkpoint along the Pailin province border is still under “consideration and preparation.”
Similar to past delays, Suvaree said the soldiers’ return depends on Cambodia fully withdrawing heavy weapons from border zones and “avoiding hindering” ongoing demining operations along the shared border.
Notably, he did not mention a previously highlighted condition requiring increased efforts to combat transnational crime, such as online scam operations, along the border.
Both sides began withdrawing heavy weapons and conducting joint demining operations earlier this week following the signing of an extended truce at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump.
A senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters shortly after the summit that Washington expects Thailand to work with Cambodia to begin the release of the 18 soldiers immediately.
Cambodia’s National Defense Ministry said Thursday that the phased withdrawal, supervised by an ASEAN observer team, will continue through Nov. 8.
For Cambodian analysts, the ongoing uncertainty highlights broader frustrations over the slow implementation of agreements and the challenges of enforcing border protocols.
“If there is no release and it lasts a long time, it will be a problem that will bring all agreements between Cambodia and Thailand into doubt,” said independent Phnom Penh-based political analyst Meas Nee.
