Thailand has called on Cambodia to retrieve the bodies of its fallen soldiers abandoned and decomposing along the Cambodian border, citing public health risks and the need to uphold military dignity.

Deputy Defense Minister General Nattapon Nakpanich has officially informed his Cambodian counterpart, Defense Minister General Tea Seiha, during the trilateral meeting ahead of the General Border Committee (GBC) Meeting in Malaysia, to collect the bodies of his soldiers properly and with the dignity owed to them as soldiers.

General Nattapon expressed concern that the bodies of deceased Cambodian soldiers on the front line that have yet to be collected could lead to epidemics. Thailand has previously returned bodies of Cambodian soldiers found on Thai soil with full dignity, in line with the Genva Convention, even though Cambodia has denied the same treatment to its own soldiers. Such conduct dishonors the fallen and causes pain to their families. He added that, for Thailand, “The honor of a soldier is the pride and dignity of the nation.”

Thai soldiers stationed near the front line reported that they were disturbed by the strong oders from uncollected corpses on the Cambodian side.