Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen calls on citizens to stop burning Thai goods

"Burning Thai goods and insulting sellers who still have Thai stock is not patriotism, it’s extremism," he wrote on social media Monday, as reported by Khmer Times.

Cambodia's Senate President Hun Sen gestures as he arrives to attend a joint congress between the Senate and the National Assembly in Phnom Penh on June 2, 2025. Photo by AFP

He was condemning the action of Khoeun Sola, more commonly known as KO1, who recently published an 8-minute video online showing him burning Thai goods.

Khoeun owns a local media news outlet and has been organizing protests at Cambodia’s gas stations run by Thai company PTT.

Hun Sen said that Khoeun’s actions had damaged national principles and pointed out that many Cambodians, both at home and abroad, are already shunning Thai products amid the two countries’ political tension.

"The question is, what should traders do with leftover Thai products? Burn them or try to sell them to recover their capital?"

He said that existing Thai stock should be sold but not replenished and urged Cambodians to use locally-produced products or import from other countries, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

"We must work together to promote and purchase locally made products to support Cambodia’s economic growth," he said.

Yang Peou, Secretary-General of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, offered no direct response to Khoeun’s actions, but addressed Cambodia-Thailand ties and Thai imports more generally.

He said that the two nations share an over 800-kilometre land border, which is now closed.

"This raises the question: how are Thai goods still reaching the Cambodian market? If the land border is closed, they must be coming in through other channels, possibly via ports," he said.

Peou acknowledged boycotting Thai goods as a personal choice reflecting patriotism, but insisted the true remedy involves halting illicit imports, enhancing Cambodian product quality, and fortifying local supply chains.

Nearly three months after reaching a ceasefire agreement at the border, Cambodia-Thailand relations remain tense.

Prospects for a long-term peace agreement remain unclear, as clashes between the two sides continue to occur and most border crossings have been closed, stalling cross-border trade activities.