Bangkok: Mr. Srisuwan Janya, leader of the organization that loves the nation, loves the land, and the people who love the nation, has submitted a petition to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to investigate the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. The petition calls for an investigation into allegations that they allowed Cambodian soldiers to encroach and occupy Thai territory in the Chong Bok area of Ubon Ratchathani Province by as much as 150-200 meters for over 10 days, without taking appropriate action in their roles as chairman and vice chairman of the National Security Council.
According to Thai News Agency, after a clash on May 28, 2015, the Thai military attempted to negotiate and push Cambodian soldiers out of Thai territory. However, at the policy level, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense opted to resolve issues through the Joint Boundary Committee (JBC), despite Cambodia’s reluctance to engage and its attempts to escalate the matter to the International Court of Justice, which Thailand is not a member of. Consequently, Cambodian forces continued to occupy the area, digging and encroaching further into Thai territory. The Minister of Defense acknowledged the encroachment but controversially claimed the area was No Man’s Land, despite no treaty or agreement supporting this claim.
The petition argues that the actions of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense may violate Section 1 of the 2017 Thai Constitution, which asserts Thailand as a single and indivisible kingdom. Their actions could also contravene Section 119 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates severe penalties, including death or life imprisonment, for acts causing any part of the Kingdom to fall under foreign sovereignty or diminish the state’s independence, in conjunction with Section 157.
Furthermore, the actions could represent a grave breach of ethical standards as delineated in Article 6, which mandates the protection of Thailand’s monarchy, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, national dignity, interests, and security. The petition emphasizes that the two officials allowed the Cambodian military to infringe upon Thailand’s sovereignty for more than 10 days, prompting the patriotic organization to urge the NACC to investigate and prosecute the matter according to the law.