A Thai soldier was seriously injured by a landmine near the Cambodian border, just days after both countries agreed to a ceasefire following deadly border clashes. The incident has sparked a heated dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, with each side accusing the other of violating international law.
The soldier’s left ankle was badly damaged on Tuesday after he stepped on the device while patrolling about 1km from the Ta Moan Thom Temple in Thailand’s Surin province. Thai army spokesperson Major General Winthai Suvaree said the incident proved Cambodia had breached the truce and violated international agreements, including the Ottawa Convention banning landmines. “Cambodia continues to covertly plant landmines while the Thai army has consistently adhered to peaceful approaches and has not been the initiating party,” he said.
The statement warned that if violations continued, Thailand might “exercise the right of self-defence under international law principles to resolve situations that cause Thailand to continuously lose personnel due to violations of ceasefire agreements and sovereignty encroachments by Cambodian military forces”. This is the fourth landmine incident in recent weeks involving Thai soldiers along the disputed border.
Phnom Penh dismissed the accusation, insisting it has not laid new mines. “Cambodia, as a proud and responsible State Party to the Ottawa Convention, maintains an absolute and uncompromising position: we have never used, produced, or deployed new landmines under any circumstances, and we strictly and fully honour our obligations under international law,” the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence said in a social media post.
The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia centers on their 817km border, with ownership of the Ta Moan Thom and 11th-century Preah Vihear temples at the heart of the issue. A fragile truce has held since last week when both governments agreed to allow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) observers to monitor contested areas to prevent further fighting.
The recent clashes, which started on July 24, were the worst fighting between the neighbours in more than a decade and involved exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter sorties that killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 on both sides. Thailand has accused Cambodia of planting mines on its side of the border.