PHNOM PENH – Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen has expressed deep regret over the deterioration of long-standing relations with Thailand’s Shinawatra family, following the leak of an alleged phone call involving Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
In a Facebook post via Samdech Hun Sen of Cambodia, Hun Sen revealed that his residence in Takhmao, Kandal Province, includes two special rooms—named the “Thaksin Room” and the “Yingluck Room”—reserved for former Thai premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, whom he has personally supported during times of political unrest in Thailand.
He stated that the recent damage to the relationship was caused by a Cambodian official who leaked the audio out of anger toward the Thai Prime Minister, claiming she insulted Cambodian leaders and called them unprofessional.
Hun Sen also publicly welcomed “Luangta Suj,” a controversial Thai monk from Buriram province who previously called for Cambodian soldiers to kill people in Surin. Despite this, Hun Sen praised Prime Minister Hun Manet and the Cambodian government for allowing Suj to stay in Cambodia and announced plans to request Cambodian citizenship for the monk.
“Helping Thai people is nothing new,” Hun Sen wrote. “I have supported former Prime Ministers Thaksin and Yingluck, who are the father and aunt of Thailand’s current Prime Minister.”
Hun Sen further recounted hosting Paetongtarn and her husband for a family dinner during her official visit to Cambodia in April 2025. Before departing, Paetongtarn reportedly asked to see the rooms where her father and aunt once stayed, and her husband filmed both.
“That sincere bond between our two families for more than 30 years was destroyed by the leak of a private conversation by an angry Cambodian official,” Hun Sen lamented.
He emphasized that the case involving Luangta Suj should not disrupt Thai-Cambodian relations or be seen as interference in Thailand’s internal affairs, stating that Suj would not be allowed to engage in anti-Thai activities from Cambodia.
