Deputy Defence Minister and Acting Minister of Defense General Nattaphon Narkphanit announced a comprehensive three-pronged evaluation framework for assessing the recently concluded Thailand-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC) talks. He detailed the evaluation criteria that will determine the success of the bilateral negotiations aimed at resolving longstanding border issues between the two Southeast Asian nations.
The first prong focuses on Cambodia's sincerity at the secretariat level, which General Nattaphon said demonstrated "positive signs." He noted Cambodia's expressed willingness to cooperate on the majority of Thailand's proposals during the talks. However, significant gaps remain on two critical issues: landmine clearance operations and the elimination of online scam networks operating along the border region.
The second evaluation criterion centers on the extraordinary session itself. The deputy minister affirmed that Thailand will strictly adhere to all agreements reached during the talks, signaling Thailand's commitment to the negotiated outcomes.
The third and most critical prong involves actual implementation of agreements on the ground — an area General Nattaphon identified as the ultimate test of the talks' success. To ensure compliance, both countries will deploy several bilateral monitoring mechanisms:
*The Regional Border Committee (RBC), comprising regional military commanders from both nations
*The General Border Committee itself will maintain oversight responsibilities
*A newly established interim observer team featuring military attachés from ASEAN member countries
The multi-layered monitoring approach reflects the complexity of border management issues that have periodically strained Thailand-Cambodia relations, particularly in regard to territorial disputes and cross-border criminal activities.
The GBC talks represent the latest diplomatic effort to address these challenges through structured dialogue and cooperative mechanisms.