Thailand has summoned Cambodia’s ambassador to formally complain after Senate President Hun Sen publicly shared a recorded phone call with the Thai prime minister discussing the ongoing border dispute.
The summons came after Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government was left clinging to a slim majority following the late-night exit of a key coalition party on Wednesday – just hours after a recording was leaked of her downplaying a general’s stance in a call with Cambodia’s influential former leader, Hun Sen. The call, purportedly held on June 15, was reposted by Hun Sen on Facebook.
Facing opposition calls to resign and dissolve parliament, Paetongtarn urgently met with military leaders Thursday morning before issuing a public apology alongside them.
”I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment,” she told reporters.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said at a separate press conference that the leak was “unacceptable conduct between states” that undermined diplomatic norms and the “spirit of good neighbourliness.”
He added the incident damages trust and mutual respect between the two leaders and countries, and severely hampers ongoing efforts to resolve the dispute in good faith.
Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and its embassy in Bangkok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Chea Thyrith, spokesperson for Hun Sen, rejected the Thai Foreign Ministry’s claim that the leaked conversation violated diplomatic ethics, and took aim at Thailand’s role in the ongoing border tensions.
“Who violated diplomatic ethics first? Who shot and killed Cambodian soldiers first? Who unilaterally closed the border? Is that ethical? Is that diplomatic cooperation between neighbouring countries?” he said.
He went on to bluntly describe the remarks as “childish and shameful.”
Since a deadly border clash near the Emerald Triangle on May 28, when one Cambodian soldier died, tensions between the two countries have escalated in tit-for-tat moves. These include restrictions at border crossings, telecom cutoffs, bans on Thai agricultural goods and calls for Cambodian migrant workers to return.
Thailand also condemned Cambodia’s recent move to take four disputed areas to the International Court of Justice, calling it an escalation.
