PHNOM PENH - Thousands of Cambodians joined a state-organised march in its capital on Wednesday to support the government in an ongoing border dispute with Thailand triggered by the death of a Cambodian soldier last month.
The two neighbours share an 820-kilometre (510-mile) land border, parts of which are undemarcated and include ancient temples that both sides have contested for decades.
The rally comes days after officials held talks in Phnom Penh in a bid to ease tensions. Though talks were inconclusive, both sides pledge to continue dialogue.
Marchers shouted slogans, waved the Cambodian flag and held portraits of the Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, the influential former prime minister Hun Sen. Monks and students were seen at the rally, led by deputy premier Hun Many, the premier's brother.
"Cambodia's land! We won't take others' land, and we keep our land!" some chanted.
On Wednesday, Cambodia's defence ministry said that Thailand had again violated its sovereignty.
"Thailand has increased activities in the area, including drone flights, trench digging and troop deployments along the border," the statement said.
Thailand rejected the accusation.
"These trenches are located well within Thai sovereign territory, and therefore, we refute any allegation that we violated the 2000 MOU," Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said, referring to a memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 aimed at resolving border disputes.
"Thailand has not increased activities in the area along the border," he added.
Although both governments have pledged to calm nationalist fervour and handle the issue through dialogue, Bangkok has tightened its borders and threatened to cut off electricity supplies to its neighbour.
Phnom Penh announced it would cease buying Thai produce, electric power and internet bandwidth. It has also ordered local television stations not to screen Thai films.
On the weekend, Cambodia said it had brought the four disputed areas to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Thailand has repeatedly said it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction and would only use bilateral mechanisms, with the next meeting slated for September.
Cambodia has twice successfully sought ICJ resolutions, in 1962 on the ownership of the disputed 11th-century Hindu Preah Vihear temple and in 2013, after it sought clarification of jurisdiction of the land around the temple.
Tensions escalated in 2008 over Preah Vihear, leading to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, some during a week-long exchange of artillery in 2011.
Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, left, shakes hands with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet during a visit to Cambodia in March 2024. (Photo: Pheu Thai Party)
Both countries have for more than a century contested sovereignty at undemarcated points along their shared border, which was mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she will never speak with Hun Sen again after a leaked recording showed she called a regional Thai army commander an opponent and promised to follow the former Cambodian prime minister’s wishes.