Thailand fires back with evidence over Miss Universe Cambodia images

Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has challenged the use of historical images at the Miss Universe Cambodia 2026 preliminary round, saying photographs of Thai women from the reign of King Chulalongkorn were presented as depicting ancient Cambodian dress and culture.

Culture Minister Sabida Thaiseth said Monday that the images were shown on an LED screen during the preliminary round on 18 September, while the event’s host described them as “Khmer dress and ancient Khmer culture.”

Sabida said the images were not Cambodian as claimed, but photographs previously published by Thailand’s Fine Arts Department on Facebook on 5 August.

According to the minister, the photographs show women from Kamphaeng Phet province and were taken there in 1906, during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, or Rama V.

The photographs are part of the Royal Photographic Glass Plate Negatives and Original Prints Collection preserved at the Vajirayana Royal Library and were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register in 2017, she said.

Sabida said the original photographs clearly bear the Fine Arts Department’s watermark. However, the images used at the pageant had been cropped to remove the watermark and were presented without identifying their source.

The minister said the use of the images indicated an intention by the pageant organisers to present them to the public as authentic Cambodian dress.

She called on the organisers to stop the practice and correct the presentation.

The Culture Ministry has also sent a warning letter to the private organisers of Miss Universe Cambodia, urging them to take corrective action within a specified timeframe, Sabida said.

She stressed that the ministry’s response was intended to avoid turning the issue into a state-to-state conflict, saying Thailand had chosen to address the matter through diplomatic channels with the private organisers.

The ministry also plans to publish information on the development of Thai dress from the past to the present and continue promoting knowledge about Thai cultural heritage internationally.

Sabida said Thailand has already organised roadshows in several countries to raise awareness of Thai dress and its cultural development.

She also said Thailand expects to see progress toward the registration of Thai dress as intangible cultural heritage of humanity with UNESCO in December.

The minister said the process would be handled carefully and based on factual information.