Sports Demand Peace: Cambodian Olympic Chief Accuses Thailand of Violating Olympic Spirit Amid Border War

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 12, 2025) — Cambodia’s National Olympic Committee has accused Thailand of betraying the Olympic spirit, charging that the host nation of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games launched military aggression against Cambodia even as it welcomed athletes to Bangkok.

NOCC Secretary General Vath Chamroeun said Thailand’s attacks on Cambodian territory days before the Games violated the core Olympic principle that sports must promote peace, not conflict. “Instead of opening the SEA Games, they opened a war,” he said Friday upon returning to Phnom Penh.

Chamroeun argued that no host nation has ever defied Olympic principles in such a way, calling Thailand’s actions a direct affront to the Olympic movement. Cambodia withdrew its delegation on Dec. 10, citing safety concerns after intensified clashes.

The move echoes Cambodia’s boycott of the inaugural SEAP Games in 1959, also held in Bangkok, amid tensions over the Preah Vihear Temple. Chamroeun said the decision was reinforced by urgent appeals from athletes’ families demanding their loved ones return home.