(Phnom Penh): Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen issued a strong warning to Thailand regarding the ongoing border dispute, particularly condemning the continued use of an unauthorised and unverified map—labelled the “2008 thief map”—which he claims has been used by the Thai side to encroach upon Cambodian territory.

Samdech Techo spoke on Monday afternoon (Jun. 2) during the inaugural joint congress of the National Assembly and Senate.

The Senate president stated that Cambodia remains open to discussions involving different map scales—such as 1/100,000, 1/50,000, or 1/25,000—but insisted that any map used must have a transparent and verifiable source. He stressed that any map created unilaterally by one side is completely unacceptable and reaffirmed that both parties must abide by the Franco–Siamese Treaties of 1904–1907 as the legal foundation for border demarcation and map development.

"You cannot use your 1/50,000 map to infringe upon Cambodia’s sovereignty. Cambodia is not a helpless child to be bullied or deceived into surrendering its territory [...] That ‘2008 thief map’, which was used to invade us, must never be used again—we are making this very clear," Samdech Techo underscored.

He went on to explain that Cambodia maintains full transparency in its map-related processes, including informing the public and, when required, officially contacting the president of France to request technical experts for scale adjustments. He cited past instances of cooperation with Viet Nam and Laos, where Cambodia transitioned from the original 1/100,000 Bonne maps to 1/50,000 UTM maps under expert guidance.

In the meeting, Samdech Techo also called on the Cambodian public to remain vigilant and closely monitor developments along the Cambodia–Thailand border, while staying calm and offering moral support to the troops stationed at the frontlines.
=FRESH NEWS