Associate Professor Panitan Wattanayagorn pointed out that Thailand’s slow and fragmented national security apparatus, coupled with a weak National Security Council, projected an image of internal disorder.

This perception, he added, enabled Cambodia to exploit the situation at both the military and political levels.

According to the academician, the Cambodian government employs three key approaches: the first involves symbolic leadership gestures, the second focuses on military mobilization, and the third is geared toward diplomatic reconciliation.

While regret has been expressed over the casualties, Wattanayagorn warned that talks between the Cambodian and Thai militaries may take time to become visible.

He contrasted Thailand’s fragmented security machinery, its bureaucratic inertia, and excessive administrative red tape with Cambodia’s swift and centralized response under President Hun Sen.

This perception of weakness, he warned, emboldened Cambodia to assert its demands, including the construction of roads for weapons transport.

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