The commander of the Trat Marine Task Force explained the case of a video clip showing "Chinese" people dismantling barbed wire placed by Thai authorities to block off the "Thmoda" area. He admitted the incident did happen and confirmed that soldiers were sent to negotiate. He affirmed that the military continues to guard the area.
An online video posted on Cambodian social media recorded an event from the Thmoda side, Vialvel Subdistrict, Botum Sakor Province, showing a group of Chinese running shops near the Thai-Cambodian border dismantling barbed wire placed by Thai authorities. They also installed Chinese national flags to enter and move goods within the Chinese community at the border, which became a widely discussed issue online.
At 15:20 on 15 January 2026, a reporter asked Lieutenant Commander Thammanoon Wanna, commander of the Trat Marine Task Force, who confirmed that Chinese individuals did remove the barbed wire. He explained that the concertina wire surrounding the Chinese shops was placed after a Marine military operation, which included more barbed wire to block the area. Later, the Chinese themselves dragged the wire to their shop fronts out of concern that Cambodians might steal items from their shops. This area has many Chinese-operated stores.
Lieutenant Commander Thammanoon added that after the incident, nearby soldiers immediately monitored the situation. The Chinese requested the soldiers to remove the concertina wire, but the military refused. Negotiations led to an agreement to move the concertina wire to block behind the Chinese shops instead. The soldiers continue to guard the area. The incident ended quickly with no one affected by the event.