27/07/2025
Thailand’s Report to the UN: A Deliberate Deception to Justify Military Aggression
In a deeply troubling development, the Kingdom of Thailand has taken its campaign of misinformation to the international stage by presenting a distorted, deceitful and dangerous report to the UN Security Council (UNSC). This is not diplomacy — this is deliberate deception. It is not a pursuit of peace — it is a calculated manipulation of international opinion designed to justify Thailand’s blatant military aggression against the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Thailand has effectively weaponised information as part of its military strategy. By fabricating narratives, selectively presenting events and falsely portraying itself as the victim, Thailand is waging an information warfare campaign aimed at obscuring its own provocations and territorial ambitions.
Cambodia did not initiate this conflict. On July 24, the Royal Thai Armed Forces crossed into Cambodian territory, violating international law and the fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter. This was no accident or misunderstanding — it was a premeditated assault, involving airstrikes by F-16 fighter jets and the use of banned cluster munitions on civilian targets, including villages, schools and health centres, in blatant contravention of the laws of armed conflict.
Thailand’s UNSC report attempts to invert reality. It accuses Cambodia of aggression while conveniently omitting the Thai incursions and bombardments that triggered this crisis. It condemns Cambodian border forces defending their homeland while ignoring its own deliberate invasion and mobilisation. It professes humanitarian concern while being the direct cause of widespread civilian displacement and destruction.
This strategy — a textbook case of psychological and informational manipulation — is not new. Thailand’s long history of disinformation, from distorting historical claims to forging maps, now escalates into an attempt to provoke conflict while feigning victimhood on the international stage.
By exploiting the platform of the UNSC, Thailand seeks not peace or resolution but to entrench its position, evade accountability, and legitimise its aggression. This is not the behaviour of a responsible state. It is the behaviour of a professional liar, a government prepared to distort facts and rewrite history to serve its military and political objectives.
Cambodia will not be silenced. We will not allow our sovereignty to be trampled under a cloak of lies. We call on the international community to see through this charade. The facts are clear. The aggression is real. Thailand’s campaign of deceit threatens not only Cambodia but the very credibility of international diplomacy and the rule of law.
If the UNSC is to uphold its mandate to maintain international peace and security, it must reject Thailand’s theatrical disinformation, hold the aggressor accountable, and ensure that truth — not propaganda — shapes its decisions.
The Kingdom of Cambodia remains committed to peace. But peace cannot be built on lies. It must be grounded in justice, truth and respect for sovereignty — principles Thailand has egregiously violated.
Roth Santepheap is a geopolitical analyst based in Phnom Penh. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
