Gen Nattaphon says he warned Cambodian counterpart after provocative gunfire in Sa Kaeo
PUBLISHED : 13 Nov 2025 at 17:34
Cambodian soldiers fired at Thai soldiers in Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday to provoke a fight and frame Thailand for attacking it, according to Thailand’s defence minister.
Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit was responding on Thursday to claims made by Phnom Penh that one civilian was killed and three injured by gunfire from the Thai side of the border at Ban Nong Ya Kaew village in Khok Sung district of Sa Kaeo on Wednesday.
Thai soldiers had to fire warning shots back to stop a provocative attack from the Cambodian side and defend Thai sovereignty in accordance with their rules for the use of force, Gen Nattaphon said.
He said that after the provocative gunfire, he phoned his Cambodian counterpart. He warned Gen Tea Seiha that Cambodian soldiers should not have fired from a location where civilians were also staying, and the latter replied that it was unintentional.
The First Army Region reported that Cambodian soldiers fired about 30 assault rifle shots at Thai soldiers in Ban Nong Ya Kaew for 10 minutes starting from 4.10pm on Wednesday.
Gen Nattaphon also said that Cambodian soldiers had earlier provoked Thailand with skyward shots but on Wednesday they aimed at Thai troops. Fresh bullet holes in Thai soldiers’ bunkers on Wednesday were the proof, he said.
Cambodia, he said, tried to create a story that it was attacked by Thailand. It brought Cambodian civilians to the frontline, something it had done frequently in the contested areas around Ban Nong Ya Kaew and Ban Nong Chan in Sa Kaeo, Gen Nattaphon said.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, meanwhile, reiterated that Thailand had no intention to attack any country but was determined to defend its sovereignty.
Thailand this week paused implementation of a US-backed agreement to wind down hostilities, after a blast from what it said was a newly laid landmine wounded four soldiers on Monday.
Thailand has also postponed the release of 18 captured Cambodian soldiers, a key plank of the joint declaration the Thai and Cambodian premiers signed last month in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US President Donald Trump.