SA KAEO – In a call for restraint, Deputy Defence Minister Lt Gen Adul Boonthamcharoen has publicly urged hardline Thai nationalist Veera Somkwamkid to abandon his planned protest and allow the Burapha Task Force to manage the sensitive border situation. The appeal concerns ongoing Cambodian encroachment in the Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew villages within Sa Kaeo province.

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Lt Gen Adul emphasized that the military is working in accordance with a recent joint declaration signed by Thailand and Cambodia and warned that Veera’s threatened action—to lead a group of protesters with a backhoe to forcibly evict Cambodian settlers—could severely complicate these official efforts. He stated that such independent moves would hinder the military’s implementation of the peace agreement, particularly concerning the management of disputed territories and critical joint demining operations. While expressing understanding of public frustration, the Deputy Defence Minister advised that citizens should only consider independent action if there is a failure to make progress on Thailand’s four preconditions outlined prior to the declaration.

Lieutenant General Adun Boonthammajaren, Deputy Minister of Defense, addressed the incident in which Mr. Veeera Somkhwamkhid led protesters and backhoes into the Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew areas of Sa Kaeo Province to drive out Cambodians accused of encroaching on Thai… pic.twitter.com/JwdW1CkWFc

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) October 31, 2025

In a separate but related development, the Thai Army has formally dismissed a report from a Cambodian media outlet regarding a fatal incident. The report, which cited the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), claimed that a ten-year-old Cambodian boy was killed in Preah Vihear province on October 25th by an unexploded submunition from a cluster round fired by Thai forces during clashes in July. Army spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree stated the claim was incorrect, noting a discrepancy between the technical specifications of the Thai Army’s cluster munitions and the data presented in the CMAC report. He explained that it is highly unlikely for bomblets from the Thai arsenal to remain unexploded for such a long duration, clarifying that the specific type used by Thailand does not contain steel pellets.

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The spokesman further pointed to inconsistencies in the evidence, stating that the small holes found in the roof of the affected house do not align with the effects produced by the shaped charge inside Thai cluster bomblets. Maj-Gen Winthai insisted that the Thai Army has always exercised extreme caution, deploying cluster munitions exclusively against military targets.

-Thailand News (TN)