Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra says she will not have any more personal conversations with Hun Sen after the leak of a phone call in which she is heard calling a regional Thai army commander an “opponent” and agreeing to do what the former Cambodian prime minister asked.
Ms Paetongtarn admitted on Wednesday that it was her voice on a nine-minute audio clip released on Wednesday. She and Hun Sen spoke in Thai and Khmer, using an interpreter, in the call that took place on Sunday.
The clip begins with the pair exchanging pleasantries about health before getting into a discussion about the border dispute that has soured relations between the two countries.
Ms Paetongtarn is heard saying that she and Hun Sen share the same intention of having peace in both countries.
Addressing Hun Sen politely as “uncle”, she said she did not want him “to listen to our opponents … like the commander of the Second Army Region because he is a man of the opponents. After hearing what he said, I don’t want you to be upset or frustrated because actually it is not our intention.
“He wanted to look smart. So, what he said what was not beneficial to the nation. Actually we want the peace that happened before the clash at the border,” she said.
The reference was Lt Gen Boonsin Paadklang, the commander of the Second Army Region that covers northeastern Thailand. Hun Sen was reportedly angered by the general’s public comments that Thailand was “ready to fight”.
Ms Paetongtarn said she tried to calm Hun Sen using an “off-the-record approach in a private conversation”.
“The talking technique should not have been revealed,” she said, standing at a microphone with Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Prommin Lertsuridet, secretary-general to the prime minister, by her side.
“I feel that I have the goal to maintain national peace. … I used soft words,” she said, adding that she normally called Hun Sen “uncle” during their private conversations.
Hun Sen denies leak
Hun Sen confirmed in a social media post that he had recorded the 17-minute call on June 15. He said he wanted to avoid any misunderstandings and that he would give Thai authorities the complete audio file, the Khmer Times reported.
He denied leaking the excerpt, saying he had shared the clip with about 80 officials in his country.
In the conversation Ms Paetongtarn is heard asking Hun Sen to sympathise with his “niece” because “people in Thailand want me to be a prime minister in Cambodia”, she says with a laugh.
She said she was ready to do what Hun Sen wanted. The latter said he wanted normal border opening hours to be restored. Ms Paetongtarn replies: “OK. Same here.”
Hun Sen said he was disappointed with the Thai border restrictions that followed the May 28 incident in Chong Bok in Ubon Ratchathani that sparked the latest dispute.
In the recorded conversation, Ms Paetongtarn is also heard apologising for the revelation of a Thai plan to cut off water and electricity to the Cambodian side if the situation deteriorated. She stressed to him that these were only plans and were not meant to be executed.
She proposed that the pair release some kind of joint statement saying that they share the same intention to maintain peace. She also asked Hun Sen to give her advice, complaining that she was being heavily criticised for her handling of the situation. (Story continues below)
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra listens to a reporter's question at Government House on Wednesday. (Photo: Government House)
Hun Sen repeated his call for the Thai military to restore normal border opening hours. Ms Paetongtarn agreed but proposed that both countries do so simultaneously so that she would not be accused of doing what others tell her.
“But he disagreed,” she said at Government House on Wednesday. “He said he would open the border five hours after” the opening by the Thai side.
She told him she would discuss the issue with security authorities at Phitsanulok Mansion (the prime minister’s official residence) on Monday.
But in the middle of that meeting, Hun Sen gave an ultimatum for Thailand to open the border in 24 hours, Ms Paetongtarn said. That stunned her because it was different from their earlier conversation.
“Now it is clear that he wants popularity in his own country and pays no attention to the impact on international relations,” she said.
“I hope he has more popularity in the eyes of the world, after they hear two leaders having a personal conversation that was recorded and released. Of course, I did not release it,” the prime minister said.
She also denied she had called the Second Army Region commander her opponent. She said she meant that Thailand and Cambodia were being considered as opponents.
Local media reported that Lt Gen Boonsin said the prime minister had already called him to explain the context of her remarks. He told her he had no issues and understood the situation.
A reporter asked if Ms Paetongtarn would continue to talk with Hun Sen. She laughed and smiled uncomfortably for a few seconds. Then she said she had no idea.
Another reporter asked if peaceful negotiations would now be possible, Ms Paetongtarn said she would not have personal conversations with Hun Sen anymore.
Asked if ties between her family and Hun Sen’s family were over, Ms Paetongtarn laughed uncomfortably and said she personally could not have such a private conversation anymore. “Otherwise, there would be an issue of trust.”
The prime minister said that she took the side of the armed forces because she always consulted with the armed forces.