BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH - Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that Thailand has repatriated 18 detained Cambodian soldiers to Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Cambodia's state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) reported that Thailand on Wednesday released the 18 Cambodian soldiers that it had captured since late July.

This developed as the Thai Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that, given the current caretaker status of the Thai government and the continued presence of landmines rendering the border areas unsafe, Thailand considers that conditions are not yet met for convening a Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting.

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Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told a press conference that the proposal to convene a JBC meeting was put forward earlier by the Cambodian side, predating the special meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers. He added that, as the current situation has changed, the proposal needs to be reconsidered.

According to the spokesperson, given the current caretaker status of the Thai government, it may not be in a position to designate appropriate representatives to attend talks on boundary delimitation.

Nikorndej also highlighted that with the continued presence of a significant number of landmines in the border area, both sides are unable to conduct surveys or boundary demarcation work.

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Clear demining mechanisms must first be established before a JBC meeting can take place, said the spokesperson.

Cambodia has sent a diplomatic note to Thailand, proposing to hold the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary for the first week of January 2026 in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, according to a Monday press release from the State Secretariat of Border Affairs.