AKP Phnom Penh, June 27, 2026 --

A senior official of Cambodia’s Secretariat of State for Border Affairs (SSBA) has stated that both the official 1:200,000-scale map of the Franco-Indochina-Siam Boundary Delimitation Commission and Thailand’s own unilaterally produced L7017 map indicate that Khnar Temple is located within Cambodian territory.

In an interview with the National Television of Cambodia, H.E. Ith Sotha, Permanent Secretary of State at the SSBA, who is a senior border expert, reaffirmed that Khnar Temple lies within Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial boundaries.

He explained that the 1:200,000-scale map, which resulted from the work of the Franco-Indochina-Siam Boundary Delimitation Commission, specifically Sector 5, clearly places Khnar Temple inside Cambodian territory.

According to H.E. Ith Sotha, Thailand’s unilaterally drawn 1:50,000-scale L7017 map also shows that Khnar Temple is located in Cambodia.

“I would also like to clarify that the L7017 map, which Thailand produced unilaterally and has used unlawfully, also shows that Khnar Temple, Tamone Temple, and several other temples along the border are located within Cambodian territory,” he said.

The senior official alleged that the Thai military is attempting to draw a new boundary line to incorporate areas that Thailand has invaded and is illegally occupying into Thai territory.

“Therefore, regardless of the L7017 map used by Thailand, or any other maps that Thailand has produced unilaterally, those maps have no legal validity or legal effect,” he emphasised.

According to the border expert, the Cambodia-Thailand border is an international boundary established in the early 20th century through delimitation and the installation of 74 border markers. He said the process was based on treaties, conventions, maps, boundary records, and other related documents, as well as physical demarcation conducted by French authorities representing Cambodia and the Siamese authorities, now Thailand.

By C. Nika