By Thai Newsroom and PPTVHD36
THAI Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border with this being a follow-up of their discussion on Dec. 11.
In focusing on the latest developments on the frontline, Sihasak reaffirmed Thailand’s position and shared information on the way forward, including participation in the Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Monday Dec. 22 in Kuala Lumpur.
The US Secretary of State took note of the developments and expressed readiness to render support, with both countries to continue staying in close contact on further changes.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has also submitted a letter to the UN expressing concern over Cambodia’s suspension of land border crossings, preventing Thai citizens from returning home, which violates international obligations.
The ministry also refuted rumours of 5,000 Thai soldiers having been killed, stating they were fabricated using AI.
Mr. Nikorndej Plangkoon, the ministry’s spokesperson, said two issues regarding developments on the Thai-Cambodian border were raised with the first being protection of Thai citizens in Cambodia, following Cambodia’s announcement of the suspension of land border crossings on Thursday Dec. 17.
It was pointed out that these measures violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICC-PR), the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War, and obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was urged to tell Cambodia to comply with relevant international obligations.
The second issue concerns the dissemination of false and misleading information by Khmers with the first of two recent examples given by Nikorndej being the Cambodian Defence Ministry accusing Thailand of using F-16 fighter jets to drop two bombs in Poipet.
Thailand underscored that the airstrike was to destroy missiles that were not positioned in Poipet with all Thai missions undergoing multiple layers of approval, including intelligence gathering, military review, and consideration of international law. Thailand’s objective is to strictly avoid impacting civilians.
Secondly, Cambodian media reported that over 5,000 Thai soldiers died in the clashes, even using AI-generated images for illustration with this being totally inaccurate and differs significantly from the statistics compiled by the Thai military, which have been thoroughly verified, he added.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page – Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow talking on the phone with an image of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio inset. Credit – Amarin TV
Insert – Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Plangkoon. Photo – PPTVHD36
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