Latest news with #HunManet
Bangkok Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
'We can scramble jets in 5 minutes,' says RTAF chief
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has affirmed its readiness amid border tensions with Cambodia, saying fighter jets can be deployed within five minutes if conflict erupts. ACM Phanpakdee Phatthanakun, commander of the RTAF, also expressed confidence that the air force is fully prepared to deploy combat aircraft within five minutes should any military confrontation arise along the Thai-Cambodian border. The statement comes amid growing tensions following remarks by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet regarding military incentives. Speaking at parliament, ACM Phanpakdee said that the Defence Council has approved contingency planning for border scenarios. He stressed that Thailand's preparation is standard protocol, aiming solely to uphold national sovereignty rather than to provoke or escalate conflict. When asked about Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet's declaration offering bonuses to Cambodian soldiers for shooting down Thai fighter jets, ACM Phanpakdee downplayed the threat. "Our operations will not reach that level of escalation," he said. "Our duty is to protect our sovereignty. There is no cause for concern, as we have no intention of invading anyone. Our focus remains on maintaining the highest level of readiness to safeguard the nation." Regarding public confidence in national defence capabilities, the air force chief urged people to place their trust in the armed forces. "The Royal Thai Air Force, alongside the other military branches, maintains maximum readiness and confidence in our defensive responsibilities. We are steadfast in our commitment to non-aggression," he added. The Centre for Border Affairs Management (CBAM) has meanwhile confirmed that the current security situation along the Thai-Cambodian border remains stable, with no significant changes. CBAM emphasised the continued unity and coordination among Thai agencies and indicated that measures are being considered to ease cross-border transport following damage to goods due to logistical delays. Additionally, temporary exemptions for cross-border labourers may be granted ahead of the upcoming harvest. At Government House yesterday, Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alongside Rear Admiral Surasak Khongsiri, deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, said reports from security agencies and local authorities responsible for border checkpoints confirmed that the overall situation remains orderly. Exceptions are still being granted for medical patients requiring treatment in Thailand, students, and other individuals with essential daily needs who need to cross the border.
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Amnesty says Cambodia is enabling brutal scam industry
Barbed wire fences are seen outside a shuttered Great Wall Park compound where Cambodian authorities said they had recovered evidence of human trafficking, kidnapping and torture during raids on suspected cybercrime compounds in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, Cambodia Sept 21, 2022. - Reuters file photo BANGKOK: Human rights group Amnesty International accused Cambodia's government on Thursday (June 26) of "deliberately ignoring" abuses by cybercrime gangs that have trafficked people from across the world, including children, into slavery at brutal scam compounds. The London-based group said in a report that it had identified 53 scam centres and dozens more suspected sites across the country, including the nation's capital, Phnom Penh. The prison-like compounds were ringed by high fences with razor wire, guarded by armed men and staffed by trafficking victims forced to defraud people across the globe, it said, with those inside subjected to punishments including shocks from electric batons, confinement in dark rooms, and beatings. Amnesty said its findings revealed a "pattern of state failures" that allowed the billion-dollar industry to flourish, including failures to investigate human rights abuses, identify and assist victims, and regulate security companies and tools of torture. Cambodian government spokesman Pen Bona said the country rejected allegations of inaction, pointing to a task force led by Prime Minister Hun Manet formed in January and saying the report was "exaggerated". He said Cambodia was one of the victims of the scam industry and wanted cooperation rather than blame. While Cambodia has overseen raids that have freed some trafficked workers, Amnesty said it found more than two-thirds of scam compounds were either not investigated by police or had continued to operate even after police interventions. Two compounds did appear to have been shut down, the group said. During rescue efforts, police did not enter compounds but met representatives who handed over only the victim who had called for help, the group said, while some survivors were beaten by their bosses after trying to contact the police. The government spokesman did not respond to those claims. "Deceived, trafficked and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare - enlisted in criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government,' said Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard. Cambodia emerged during the pandemic as a hub for the global scam industry as mostly Chinese-led criminal groups repurposed unused casinos and hotels as scam centres housing as many as 100,000 people, according to the United Nations. Similar enclaves have flourished in Myanmar and Laos. The industry in Cambodia now generates more than US$12.5 billion annually - half of the country's GDP, according to the United States Institute for Peace. Thailand and Cambodia have traded barbs over the scam issue in recent days as border tensions have heated up, with the Thai prime minister calling for a crackdown in Cambodia and another government official calling the country a hub for cybercrime. The criminal gangs entice trafficking victims with fake job offers posted on social media and then force them to financially exploit people online including through fake romances or "pig-butchering' schemes in which the scammer builds trust with a victim before stealing their money, Amnesty said. Nine out of 58 survivors interviewed by Amnesty were children, the group said, including a 16-year-old boy from China who was kicked and barred from leaving. Amnesty said it had confirmed the death of a Chinese child in one compound. An 18-year-old Thai survivor told Reuters he was trafficked to a compound in Phnom Penh in 2023 and then, when he tried to leave, sold to another compound close to the Vietnamese border. The man, who asked not to be named, was forced to use deepfake video software to pose as an older attractive man to lure Thai women into handing over their money. After almost a year, he threw himself out of a window, injuring himself, and escaped after hiding in a hospital. - Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Cambodia's Hun Sen accuses Thai PM of ‘insulting king'
Thailand has strict lese majeste laws, which bans criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family. (EPA Images pic) PHNOM PENH : Cambodia's influential ex-premier Hun Sen today accused Thailand's prime minister of insulting the Thai king, as tensions between the neighbouring countries intensified. He said prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's comments about her military commander – who she labelled an 'opponent' – in a leaked phone call with the veteran leader over a border dispute were 'an insult to the king'. 'An insult to a regional commander is an insult to the Thai king because it is only the king who issued a royal decree to appoint him,' Hun Sen said in a livestream on his official Facebook page. The daughter of controversial ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra – who goes on trial for lese-majeste next week – faces being sacked as prime minister as the phone call scandal has triggered calls for her to step down and her government to teeter. Hun Sen – father of Cambodia's prime minister Hun Manet and former close ally to Thaksin – last week posted the full 17-minute recording of the private conversation on his official Facebook page. 'I just let Thailand know how the prime minister committed a dirty act to their nation,' he said today. In the recording posted online, the two leaders discussed restrictions imposed on border crossings after a military clash last month killed a Cambodian soldier. Thailand has strict lese majeste laws, which bans criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family and carries sentences of up to 15 years in jail per offence.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Cambodia's Hun Sen accuses Thai PM of insulting monarch in leaked call fallout
PHNOM PENH, June 27 — Cambodia's influential ex-premier Hun Sen on Friday accused Thailand's prime minister of insulting the Thai king, as tensions between the neighbouring countries intensified. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's comments about her military commander — who she labelled an 'opponent' — in a leaked phone call with the veteran leader over a border dispute were 'an insult to the king'. 'An insult to a regional commander is an insult to the Thai king because it is only the king who issued a royal decree to appoint him,' Hun Sen said in a livestream on his official Facebook page. The daughter of controversial ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra — who goes on trial for lese-majeste next week — faces being sacked as prime minister as the phone call scandal has triggered calls for her to step down and her government to teeter. Hun Sen — father of Cambodia's prime minister Hun Manet and former close ally to Thaksin — last week posted the full 17-minute recording of the private conversation on his official Facebook page. 'I just let Thailand know how the prime minister committed a dirty act to their nation,' he said on Friday. In the recording posted online, the two leaders discussed restrictions imposed on border crossings after a military clash last month killed a Cambodian soldier. Thailand has strict lese majeste laws, which bans criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family and carries sentences of up to 15 years in jail per offence. — AFP
CNA
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen accuses Thai PM of 'insulting king'
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's influential ex-premier Hun Sen on Friday (Jun 27) accused Thailand's prime minister of insulting the Thai king, as tensions between the neighbouring countries intensified. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's comments about her military commander, whom she labelled an "opponent", in a leaked phone call with the veteran leader over a border dispute were "an insult to the king". "An insult to a regional commander is an insult to the Thai king because it is only the king who issued a royal decree to appoint him," Hun Sen said in a livestream on his official Facebook page. The daughter of controversial ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who goes on trial for lese-majeste next week, faces being sacked as prime minister as the phone call scandal has triggered calls for her to step down and her government to teeter. Hun Sen, father of Cambodia's prime minister Hun Manet and former close ally to Thaksin, last week posted the full 17-minute recording of the private conversation on his official Facebook page. "I just let Thailand know how the prime minister committed a dirty act to their nation," he said on Friday. In the recording posted online, the two leaders discussed restrictions imposed on border crossings after a military clash last month killed a Cambodian soldier. Thailand has strict lese majeste laws, which ban criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family and carry sentences of up to 15 years in jail per offence.
