Officers from Military Region 5 and Border Unit 503 in Banteay Meanchey province will meet with their Thai counterparts on Tuesday to resolve the matter of some 30 Thai soldiers who allegedly cut down residents' cassava on the Cambodia-Thai border.

It remained unclear on Monday afternoon whether the Cambodian cassava farmers had been growing their crops on the Thai or Cambodian side of the border, or if the land was in a disputed "white zone".

Border Unit 708 commander Long Samnang told The Post on Sunday that last Thursday, some 30 armed Thai soldiers entered the area with machetes and cut down nearly 3ha of cassava belonging to Cambodian residents along the border in Thma Puok district’s Kouk Romiet commune.

Brigadier General Ek Sam Oun, the deputy Infantry Unit commander and the commander of Military Region 5, confirmed on Monday that the Thai soldiers had cut down the cassava along the border but could not confirm if the site was in Thailand or Cambodia or what area of land was involved.

“Our Military Region 5 and Border Unit 503 are going to meet face to face to discuss the matter with the Thai battalion tomorrow [Tuesday].

"Our first thoughts are that the land belongs to Cambodia. But wait until tomorrow, we'll discuss it and then we'll know results,” he said.