Keep the JBC option alive

As the Cambodia border spat intensifies, with both sides reinforcing their respective arms, the government of Paetongtarn Shinawatra needs to overhaul its efforts in dealing with Phnom Penh to ensure it can control and protect the national interest.

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Attempts to de-escalate the border situation have gone nowhere as Cambodia keeps throwing cold water on suggestions that both sides leave the disputed area in Chong Bok district in Ubon Ratchathani unoccupied as a way to avoid any further confrontation.

Cambodia maintains it will keep its armed forces in place there, despite the Thai army’s opposition.

It must be said that the past performance of the government in handling this difficult issue has hardly met the expectations of the public.

Instead, the public has witnessed a lack of integrity among state agencies, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the military, and those tasked with security, not to mention the fact that the army and the government have barely been on the same wavelength from the get-go.

This has seemingly exacerbated the crisis stemming from a fatal clash of soldiers in Chong Bok on May 28.