Philippine military chief visits Cambodia's Thai border front as the two armies plan wider ties

General Antonio Nafarrete of the Philippines visited the Cambodian side of the Cambodia-Thailand border on Wednesday, 21 October, to look at an area where Cambodia says Thai troops have broken the ceasefire agreed last December. The Phnom Penh Post reported that he and his delegation went to the area around the Boeung Trakuon international border checkpoint in Kouk Romiet commune, Thma Puok district, in Banteay Meanchey province.

The provincial governor, Oum Reatrey, briefed the visitors on the local situation. According to Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence, the briefing covered what the ministry describes as illegal activity by Thai military personnel on Cambodian territory that Thailand occupies. The ministry said those activities run against the existing agreements between the two countries and international law, and called for them to stop at once to avoid a rise in tension and further damage to trust. These are Cambodian allegations; the reports did not include a Thai response.

The Cambodian ministry presented the inspection as a sign of Philippine support, in Manila's role as the rotating chair of ASEAN and as a member state, for Cambodia's efforts to keep the ceasefire in place and for the work of the ASEAN Observer Team deployed in the country. It also restated Cambodia's commitment to carry out the GBC Joint Declaration, the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord and related agreements in good faith.

The border visit followed talks in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, 20 October. Prime Minister Hun Manet received the Philippine delegation at the Peace Palace, Khmer Times reported, citing a statement from his office. He welcomed progress in training, capacity building and exchanges of experience between the two armies, and said he hoped cooperation would grow to cover the navies and air forces, with agreements for those services signed later. The statement gave no timetable.

Nafarrete told the prime minister that the Philippines remained committed to closer military relations with Cambodia and saw room to go beyond army-to-army contacts, the paper said. Their discussion covered regional security and the border with Thailand. Hun Manet briefed the delegation on the latest border developments, praised the role of the observer team and said he expected it to keep helping the search for a peaceful settlement under Philippine leadership. The two sides also discussed cooperation against online scams, terrorism, cyberattacks and other cross-border crime.

Earlier the same day, Nafarrete met General Vong Pisen, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. Khmer Times said Vong Pisen pointed to reciprocal visits, personnel training, exchanges of military instructors and joint exercises as evidence of progress, and said he expected wider cooperation on security, information sharing, counterterrorism, transnational crime, cybersecurity and disaster relief. The visit programme also included a meeting with members of the observer team.

Cambodian reports differed on Nafarrete's post. The Phnom Penh Post and parts of the Khmer Times coverage called him the chief of the Philippine Army, while Khmer Times elsewhere described him as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The trip puts a senior Philippine officer in a disputed sector while the Philippines chairs ASEAN and the bloc's observer team monitors the truce, and at a time when Cambodia is pressing its case that Thailand is not keeping to the ceasefire terms. Phnom Penh and Manila have now set out an aim of moving from army-level ties toward cooperation between all their armed services.