Preah Sihanouk Provincial Television, July 31 — Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said on the morning of July 31 that Thai forces had captured 21 Cambodian soldiers on the morning of July 29. Responding to questions about why the incident had not been made public sooner, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted an explanation on social media that morning.
He said the government had put the safety of Cambodian soldiers and civilians first since the border clashes broke out on July 24. It had therefore worked to bring about a ceasefire as soon as possible. Keeping frontline military information confidential was particularly important to soldiers’ safety and the effectiveness of military operations, he said.
Hun Manet said the soldiers’ safety became the government’s main concern as soon as they were captured. With little clear information at first about what had happened to them, he said confidentiality was particularly important. Releasing the information could have put their lives at risk or complicated talks to secure their release.
He said that faced with a choice between informing the public and protecting the captured soldiers’ lives, the government chose to protect them. It handled the information carefully while the situation remained unclear in order to move talks forward and secure their safe return as soon as possible. He rejected allegations by some people that the government had deliberately withheld information or disregarded the soldiers’ safety.
Hun Manet said senior Cambodian military officials contacted their Thai counterparts immediately after the incident and asked them to release the captured soldiers as soon as possible.
He said Cambodia’s defence minister and the commander of its Fourth Military Region kept in touch with their Thai counterparts and urged their prompt repatriation. The commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces also asked Thailand’s military chief, through Malaysia’s military chief, who was coordinating and monitoring the ceasefire, to help secure their release.
Hun Manet said he hoped the Thai military would repatriate all Cambodian soldiers still in its custody as soon as possible.
Reporter: Nget Pisan
Editor: Zhao Yi
