Thailand has completed the first section ?of a permanent border fence along parts of its frontier with Cambodia, the military said on Wednesday, as tensions persist between the two Southeast Asian neighbours following two rounds of ?fighting last ?year.
Chief of Defence Forces Gen Ukrit Boontanon described the 1.3-kilometre stretch of reinforced concrete panels topped with steel mesh and wire in 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,’ Gen Ukrit told reporters during a media tour of the site.
He said the military planned to build more than ?seven kilometres 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 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 following an intervention by US President Donald Trump and others, but clashes flared up again for days ?in December before both ?sides agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.