PONG NAM RON, July 22 — Thailand has completed the first section of a permanent fence along parts of its border with Cambodia, the Thai military said today, as tensions persist between the two neighbours following two rounds of fighting last year.
Chief of Defence Forces Ukrit Boontanon described the 1.3km stretch of reinforced concrete panels topped with steel mesh and concertina wire in the eastern Pong Nam Ron district as “stable, strong and durable”, saying it had been designed for long-term security.
“The concrete wall panels here have been test-fired. We have confirmed they can protect against small-arms fire,” Ukrit told reporters during a media tour of the site.
Ukrit said the military planned to build more than 7km of additional fencing connected to the existing section, while assessing other areas of the 817km frontier where terrain and environmental conditions would allow similar construction.
“Each area has different conditions,” he said. “We will build where it is beneficial and where it can be done without creating future problems.”
Troops remain deployed on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border, where longstanding territorial disputes erupted into violent clashes with the use of air strikes and artillery in July and December last year, killing nearly 150 people and displacing 300,000.
The July outbreak was settled after five days, but clashes flared up again for 20 days in December before both sides agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.
