Chouk Chey village, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia — Around a thousand Cambodians descended on Banteay Meanchey’s Chouk Chey village in support of residents the day after Thai soldiers based in Sa Kaeo province attempted to install barbed wire between sugarcane fields and farming huts inside Chouk Chey.
Residents said that Thai soldiers began placing rows of barbed wire within their village at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, and then tried to place them again on Tuesday morning.
The border village is in an area disputed by Cambodia and Thailand, and is on the Cambodian side of a small border station.
Loue, a 43-year-old Chouk Chey resident, said he saw soldiers come in past the existing border post into the village. He said he rushed to join Cambodian soldiers when Thai forces entered, volunteering to grab some of their kit from the border post as they fell back.
“I was scared but because they asked me since if the people go to pick it, it would be OK,” he said.
Yon Vorn told Mekong Independent she was awoken from a nap by the commotion on Monday afternoon.
“The village chief informed us that [Thai troops] installed barbed wire,” said the 69-year-old woman, adding that she rushed over to join. “I am too small but I tried to push it.”
Vorn wore a bandage on her right hand on Tuesday, saying she injured it by pushing away the barbed wire with a stick, and she lost a small amount of cash she was also holding in her hand at the time. She said she felt scared by the confrontation, saying the Thai soldiers carried guns, but she was encouraged by how the village came together and was supported by others.
“I am very happy to see many people coming here,” she said.
Videos of the confrontation started circulating on Facebook, TikTok and Telegram — showing Cambodian civilians and Thai soldiers on either side of a row of barbed wire, pushing it back and forth with sticks, or civilians dragging out tangles of barbed wire – and residents say other Cambodians visited the village from Monday evening through Tuesday.
Social media videos from Tuesday morning appear to show Thai supporters gathering near the confrontation site. CamboJA News reported on Tuesday that reporters were banned from livestreaming during the morning, and online journalist Meas Sara, who recently had his media license revoked, was arrested after he posted a livestream.
When reporters visited on Tuesday afternoon, the two-lane paved road through the border village was clogged with cars, and hundreds of visitors milled about. Civilians gave out free water bottles and nompao dumplings to authorities and fellow visitors, while others carried Cambodian flags. Reporters followed the crowd down a dirt road inside the village, past two barricades to prevent motorbike traffic. Cambodian military personnel blocked the crowd from crossing a final barricade, where roughly 50 meters away, there was a wall of tires and barbed wire — the apparent end of the village.
A speaker could be heard playing slow-paced instrumental music in the background. Loue claimed that the Thai side had put up the speaker.
Ouk Him, a 66-year-old village guard, took a smoke break while crouching next to the sugarcane field where Thai soldiers tried to place barbed wire on Monday. By the time he arrived, about an hour after the confrontation started, the barbed wire was no longer in the field, but he had seen a drone flying overhead and an excavator damaging the small border post and one civilian house near the border.
According to Him, there were a handful of Cambodian soldiers at the border post but Cambodian civilians volunteered to handle the barbed wire, so that Thai soldiers were less likely to shoot. He estimated that during the confrontation Monday, there were roughly 40 Cambodian soldiers and civilians and 70 Thai soldiers at the confrontation at its peak.
“Many of our Cambodian people removed the barbed wire and pushed it back, so that they retreated,” he said.
Another village guard, Than Theth, added that residents and the Chouk Chey village chief called out to each other and quickly mobilized, leading to their fast response on Monday. Theth said no one was seriously injured, except for a few getting cuts on the barbed wire.
The Cambodian and Thai national governments released opposing information about the events in Chouk Chey, as they have during different events throughout this year’s border conflict flare-up.
Cambodia Defense spokeswoman Maly Socheata announced the confrontation first in a Monday afternoon press release, saying that Thai forces attempted to install barbed wire and retreated after meeting civilian resistance from Cambodians. She then urged Thailand to respect an agreement held in an Aug. 22 meeting between Cambodia’s Military Region 5 and Thailand’s 1st Army Area “regarding refraining from expanding disputed areas and avoiding actions that could lead to heightened tensions.”
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nikorndej Balankura, did not directly address the confrontation in a Monday press conference, instead saying broadly that Cambodia had violated international human rights standards for “instances in which children, the elderly and persons with disabilities were placed at the front lines,” among other reasons.
But in Tuesday’s press conference, Nikorndej discussed the latest confrontation in depth, calling the area Nong Chan village and describing it as Thai territory that had been occupied by Cambodians.
“We reaffirm once again after having clarified on many previous occasions, that the Ban Nong Chan area served as a temporary shelter for Cambodians fleeing combat in the past. However, after the war ended, some Cambodians refused to return to their country and further expanded their settlement over the years,” he stated in the press conference.
Nikorndej added that Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa would raise the case in Geneva as a human rights violation by the Cambodian government, claiming that the involvement of Cambodian residents in this week’s scuffle amounted to the Cambodian military using civilians as “human shields.”
When asked about the Thai government’s claims, Him, the Chouk Chey village guard, in response insisted the civilians volunteered to help soldiers.
The Nation Thailand reported on Monday that Sa Kaeo governor Parinya Phothisat promised he would reclaim the land for 52 Thai families who reportedly have land claims dating back more than 40 years ago.
Thai authorities say that the village has expanded into Thailand’s Ban Nong Chan area of Khok Sung district, Sa Kaeo province in recent decades, based on their understanding of where the international border is.
Loue claimed the Thai soldiers were active on Tuesday morning but retreated as the Interim Observer Team — a group of military personnel from five Asean countries led by Malaysia’s defense attaché to Cambodia — arrived in Chouk Chey.
“When they see international observers come to inspect, they have hidden their guns and only a few show up and walk up and down,” he said.
Loue said he was surprised by the Thai military action, saying that Chouk Chey was quiet throughout the conflict so far, including the five days of fighting in late July. He said that he stayed at his home when 99 percent of the village left, saying he wanted to protect his property.
On Monday night, he and 30 to 40 residents decided to camp out to keep watch to make sure that no one would encroach their homes again.
“When they saw a lot of our people coming in, they did not allow their troops to come closer and so if all of us go back, they will place the barbed wire like before, so we have to stay guarding it,” he said from a hammock outside the village commotion, adding that he planned to continue the watch.
“I have not slept yet.”
