The Prime Minister rejected the views of Tom Andrews, who issued a statement without first listening to information from the Thai side. He asserted that Thailand has a clear position on how to proceed and emphasized that no one can impose conditions on Thailand.
At 09:50 on 3 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul gave an interview at the Ministry of Interior regarding the conclusion of the mission of Tom Andrews, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia. His statement referenced Thailand in the context of the situation in Cambodia. The Prime Minister said that today Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeaw would make a statement on this issue, and he considered that Tom Andrews issued a statement without hearing information from the Thai side. Thailand does not accept those opinions yet. He advised waiting for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify, which will be more definitive.
When asked about Cambodia's push to use the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding on Land Border Survey and Demarcation between Thailand and Cambodia (MOU 2000), including the 1:200,000 scale map, as a reference in United Nations (UN) discussions to negotiate with Thailand, Anutin responded by asking, "What does negotiation mean? Do we have no points to bargain?" He stated that Thailand has a clear position on how to proceed. As long as matters involve maritime treaties under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, which is also a UN instrument and has binding components, no one can coerce Thailand. Therefore, Thailand's condition is: do not use the word 'coerce' against us.
When further asked if Thailand would continue to use the existing maps, Anutin said that Thailand already has its principles and has been negotiating consistently based on them. Land border negotiations under the MOU 2000 have proceeded accordingly. However, when Thailand said it canceled negotiations under the MOU 2001, Cambodia insisted on binding terms only, preventing negotiations from progressing. He said Cambodia must reconsider its conditions if it wants to negotiate with Thailand. No one can coerce Thailand or take the matter to court. Thailand is confident and does not need to explain anything to anyone.