Wednesday, 21 January 2026

«Thai leaders are falling into the mire of Thongchai's 

dangerous expansionist theory?»

By: Cambodian Historians Association


In 2025, Thai military forces waged two wars against Cambodia:

the first one from 24 to 28 July and the second from 7 to 27 December.

Then, the joint statement of the third special meeting of the General 

Boundary Committee (GBC) between Cambodia and Thailand on 27 

December 2025 in “de-escalation measures” stated that both sides must 

avoid: “the attacks on civilians, unprovoked firing or advancement or 

movement of troops towards the other side's positions or troops. This 

agreement must not be violated under any circumstances”.


However, in January 2026, Thai armed forces are continuing their acts 

of encroachment and occupation of Cambodian territory. The ASEAN 

Observer Team (AOT), conducted on-site inspections in Thmar Da area, 

Pursat Province on 15 and 16 January, confirmed that the continued 

occupation by Thai armed forces is causing serious harm to civilians 

and public infrastructure.

(Khmer Times, Cambodia protests Thai occupation of Thmar Da area,

January 19, 2026)


The violations of the above joint statement prompt us to question 

whether «Thai leaders are falling into the mire of Thongchai's dangerous 

expansionist theory» which is revealed in an academic article by a French 

historian Dominique Guillemin of Sorbonne University in Paris entitled: 

“What place did Siam hold in colonial Asia? A study in light of Franco-

Siamese relations, 1893-1941.

(Original article in French: Dominique Guillemin, Quelle place pour le 

Siam dans l'Asie coloniale? Une étude au regard des relations franco-

siamoises, 1893-1941, Éditions La Contemporaine,  2007, p. 35-43).


According to Thongchai Winichakul’s work on "Siam Mapped: 

A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation, a nation's "geo-body" is 

the "territorial space" of a nation, constructed through maps and 

discourses with defined boundaries that shape national identity…

(Siam Mapped:… first published in 1994 by the University of 

Hawaii Press).


Today's article has two main points: the content of the French 

professor's (Dominique Guillemin) evaluation of Thongchai's 

work and the Thai leader's falling into the mire of Thongchai's 

dangerous expansionist theory. 


I-The content of the French professor's evaluation

1-The Thai people migrated from China to the southern part of 

the Indochinese peninsula. Considered "provincial," they ate 

glutinous rice instead of the long-grain rice of the plains. 


2-The year 1893 stands out as a specific turning point, between

the accession to the throne of the reformist King Chulalongkorn 

in 1868 and the revolution of 1932, which ended the absolute 

monarchy in Bangkok. There is a historical continuity of Thailand

without breaking according to nationalist historians including 

Luang Wichit Watthakan. 


3-Other Thai historians have examined the meaning of a possible

break as early as 1893. One of them, Thongchai Winichakul, theorizes

the emergence of Thai nation "through its very concrete possession 

of a territory" consubstantial with itself.


4-It was only when the threats to this territory became clearer that 

she became aware of herself and reaffirmed the Thai identity of 

the territories lost or threatened with loss.


5-Speaking of the consequences of the 1893 conflict, Thongchai 

refers to "scars"; the beleaguered princes becoming "the agony 

of the nation, creating a common sentiment among Thais against 

foreign threats."


6-The crisis of 1893 is not necessarily seen as a tragedy: the French 

threat was an opportunity for progress. It would have been the 

historic role of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) to implement 

the reforms that had become necessary. 


7-Thai atlases long preserved the record of territorial losses, 

the evolution of borders recounting the history of the retreats 

of Siamese "bodily geography" even though the borders could 

not be scientifically mapped until after the conflict of 1893. 


8-In the 1930s, Siamese maps bearing the outline of these 

"irredent territories" were circulated in schools and

barracks, sometimes publicly displayed, provoking

each time protests from English and French representatives. 

(Dominique Guillemin, What place did Siam hold in colonial 

Asia?, p. 36-38).


II-Thai leader's falling into the mire of Thongchai's dangerous 

expansionist theory. 

1-Anachronistic view

In 1893, Thongchai showed that Siam was under a foreign threat, namely 

France. Nowadays, being trapped in Thongchai’s dangerous expansionist 

theory, Thai leaders view Thailand current situation as the “Agony” of the 

Thai nation, where the Thai people must confront a foreign threat, namely 

Cambodia. In reality, Thailand is not threatened by Cambodia. On the 

contrary, it is the Thai leaders who are the real threat to Cambodia.


2-Illegal occupation of Cambodian territory

The Thai military is now occupying Cambodian territory in four provinces:

Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Preah Vihear, and Oddar Meanchey. They must

leave Cambodia without delay to avoid deeper entanglement.

Cambodian Historians Association

Wednesday, 21 January 2026