Thailand's Foreign Ministry has rejected claims by UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews that Thailand started the conflict with Cambodia, saying escalation followed what it called indiscriminate Cambodian attacks on civilian areas in Thailand. In a clarification issued on Saturday, August 1, the ministry also challenged Andrews's figures of 650,000 internally displaced people in Cambodia and 900,000 Cambodian migrant workers returning from Thailand. Andrews had made the remarks in his end-of-mission statement following an official visit to Cambodia from July 20 to 31, 2026. Thailand disputes displacement and worker figures The ministry said the conflict and its consequences had not been caused by Thailand. It said some people included in the reported 650,000 were Cambodians who had lived in areas opened by Thailand as temporary humanitarian shelters in the late 1970s. According to Thailand, they did not return to Cambodia once conditions improved, despite repeated formal protests to Cambodia. The ministry therefore described them as people encroaching on Thai territory, rather than internally displaced persons. It said the right of return should not be used for political purposes or propaganda, while adding that Cambodia had responsibility for protecting citizens displaced within its territory. This included their life and safety, plus access to shelter, food, clean water, sanitation and essential public-health services. On the claimed 900,000 returning Cambodian workers, Thailand said the group included both legally employed people and those who had entered or worked in the country illegally. It said they returned voluntarily after Cambodia's government called on citizens to come home, and insisted Thailand had never had a policy of expelling Cambodian workers. Call for UN impartiality The ministry said Thailand had worked with the UN Human Rights Council's special procedures and had submitted explanations that were officially recorded. It urged the UN body to maintain independence, impartiality and objectivity, using credible and verifiable information from all sides. Thailand said it was ready to rebuild relations with Cambodia if there was genuine cooperation. Both sides should implement the Joint Statement of December 27, 2025, reduce tensions and avoid actions or allegations that could create further friction, misunderstanding or weaken trust, it said. The ministry added that continued bilateral engagement could allow border-security matters to be resolved peacefully. JIC warns against one-sided accounts ACM Prapas Sornchaidee, assistant commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Air Force and director of the Joint Information Centre on the Thai-Cambodian Situation, said the dispute had moved beyond military issues into the international information arena. "The most dangerous thing today is not bullets, but distorted information," he said, warning that one-sided accounts could create global misunderstanding within minutes while verifying facts could take days. Prapas said Thailand would use documents, evidence, photographs and verifiable information rather than respond to alleged falsehoods with misinformation. "We ask only that the same standards be applied to every country," he said. He urged Thai citizens to check information before sharing it, saying Thailand's roughly 70 million people could contribute to public diplomacy through responsible posts, translations and explanations. Thailand remained prepared to let all parties examine its evidence and to work through bilateral mechanisms and international law, he said. Picture courtesy of The Nation of ACM Prapas Sornchaidee Join the discussion? 3 August 2026
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