Hun Manet’s Call to Restart the JBC Is Clear, Consistent, and Documented

By Noranarith Anandayath

September 7, 2026

Prime Minister Hun Manet’s repeated public demands for the prompt restart of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission are not ambiguous, recent improvisation, or rhetorical flourish. They are a clear, consistent, and well-documented position grounded in existing bilateral agreements.

Since the 27 December 2025 Joint Statement, Manet has repeatedly called on Thailand to appoint its JBC chairperson and resume joint survey and demarcation work without further delay. He has done so in social media posts following informal meetings with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in interviews with international media, and in public statements throughout 2026. Each time, he has linked the stalled process to the same core points: the need to implement Point 3 of the December 2025 Joint Statement, the priority of demarcating conflict-affected areas, and the practical necessity of enabling more than 20,000 displaced Cambodian civilians to return home.

This is not a new demand. It is the operational follow-through on commitments both governments already accepted. The Joint Statement prioritised the resumption of JBC technical work. Cambodia has formally requested meetings and the deployment of joint survey teams on multiple occasions. Thailand has postponed, citing elections, government formation, and the appointment of its own commission members. Even after the Anutin administration took office, the process has not restarted with urgency.

Manet’s position is therefore straightforward. The legal and technical framework already exists. The political commitment was already made. What remains is implementation. Clear, mutually recognised boundaries reduce the space for incidents, accusations, and prolonged displacement. Continuing to treat demarcation as secondary—or conditioning it on other tracks—keeps the border in a state of managed ambiguity rather than resolution.

The record shows that Hun Manet has been consistent on this point. The question is no longer whether Cambodia is asking for the JBC to restart. It is whether both governments will treat that request, and the December 2025 commitments that underpin it, as a binding operational priority rather than a talking point. Until survey teams are back in the field, the gap between stated intentions and practical progress will remain the defining feature of the dispute. #Anutin #thailand #jbcthailand #DonaldTrump #Cambodia #ECOSOCC #JBC #CambodiaNews #jbccambodia #ThailandNews