Thai netizens have reacted angrily to what they believe to be the Facebook page of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni, after it allegedly spread false claims that Thailand had used chemical weapons during ongoing border clashes with Cambodia.
The post on the Facebook page, named ‘Norodom Sihamoni នរោត្តម សីហមុនី’, alleges that “Thailand has committed another act of war crime [sic] through the use of chemical weapons targeting Cambodian troops.”
The post further claims: “On Friday, July 25, Thai troops also used cluster bombs, which are banned under international law and likewise considered a war crime.”
The post was accompanied by an illustration, showing a hazardous materials mask overlaid with the Thai national flag set against a smoky background, suggesting the use of chemical weapons.
The post drew thousands of angry reactions, mostly from Thai users, who questioned, in Thai, whether Cambodia’s monarch knew that the chemical weapon claims were false.
Many users also shared images from the Thai Army debunking the allegations.
As of today, the post, which was published on July 28, had received 11.7K comments and 5.9K shares.
The Thai Army responded via its official Facebook page, dismissing the claims as fake, baseless and lacking credible evidence.
The origin of the chemical weapon claim was the Cambodian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Lt Gen Maly Socheata, who alleged during a press briefing that “The Thai forces, since yesterday, have used aircraft to carry out poison gas attacks on areas such as An Ses and Phnom Kmoach.”
She provided no evidence to support the accusation though.
Nonetheless, her statement was widely shared, including on the Facebook page of Pich Chanmony, wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and on the Cambodian Embassy in Bulgaria’s page.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura has strongly denied the accusations, calling them completely unfounded and a systematic distortion of the facts on the ground, saying “It is a deliberate attempt to mislead the international community and undermine Thailand’s credibility and standing.”
Meanwhile, the Second Army Region Command’s Facebook page explained that an image, allegedly showing a Thai aircraft emitting a pink plume of smoke, had been digitally manipulated.
The aircraft in question was, in fact, an aircraft dropping fire retardant on wildfires in California earlier this year.
