Posts misrepresent Thailand air force chief's remarks as Cambodia border row rumbles on

As Thailand and Cambodia continue to face off over a border dispute that led to a deadly military clash, a video was shared in posts that falsely claimed Thai Air Force Chief Punpakdee Pattanakul had warned it would take them minutes to reduce the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to rubble. Pattanakul had in fact told reporters that fighter jets could intercept aircraft that invaded the kingdom's air space within five minutes, and made no mention of Cambodia or its capital.

The video of Air Force Chief Punpakdee Pattanakul answering questions from reporters was viewed at least 1.7 million times after it was posted on TikTok on June 9, 2025.

Thai-language text superimposed on the clip reads: "If Cambodia doesn't back off, Thailand will completely seize the country. The air force says Phnom Penh could be reduced to rubble within 5 minutes."

It circulated as Thailand and Cambodia faced off over a border dispute that led to an exchange of fire on May 28 in which one Cambodia solder was killed (archived link). Both the Thai and Cambodian armies said they had acted in self-defence.

While Thailand and Cambodia agreed to reposition their troops in the area to reduce confrontations, Phnom Penh has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to help resolve the border dispute (archived here and here).

Cambodia banned the import of Thai fruit and vegetables on June 17 after Bangkok refused to lift recently imposed border crossing restrictions. It had earlier banned Thai dramas from TV and cinemas, closed a popular border checkpoint, and cut internet bandwidth from across the border.

The same video was shared elsewhere in similar posts on TikTok, while a still from the clip was shared on Facebook.

"They are the heroes. Please don't disappoint us. The land that was once ours must be ours again," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "This is true, Cambodia has no chance against the advanced weaponry Thailand has."

But the Thai air force chief did not say they could reduce Phnom Penh "to rubble within five minutes".

Warplane purchase briefing

A logo for Amarin TV can be seen at the top-right corner of the falsely shared video; a subsequent search of the local broadcaster's YouTube channel found the same footage published on June 4 (archived here and here).

The video, titled "Air force stands ready to safeguard Thai sovereignty", shows  Pattanakul speaking to the media about the air force's plans to buy four Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets in a US$500 million deal (archived link).

The plan is the first phase of a 10-year plan to buy 12 fighter aircraft as Thailand updates its air power.

Punpakdee was asked about an unspecified "border situation", but did not mention Cambodia or say the Thai air force could reduce its capital to rubble.

At the video's 3:14 mark, Punpakdee says: "The air force is ready at all times. If an aircraft is likely to invade our airspace, we will be able to intercept within five minutes."

Amarin TV also published the footage on their TikTok account on the same day. The clip is cropped in the same way it is in the false posts (archived link).

Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Center also addressed the false claims on June 14, saying Punpakdee had been speaking about replacing old aircraft and strengthening national defence (archived link).

"The commander of the Royal Thai Air Force said in an interview that the Royal Thai Air Force is ready at all times. But it does not aim to attack the neighbouring country. It is to protect the country if danger occurs," it said.

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute.