PHNOM PENH, Nov 11 — Cambodia has denied allegations that its troops planted new landmines along the Thai border, after another explosion in Si Sa Ket province injured three Thai soldiers, one of whom lost a leg, The Nation reported.
In a statement issued today, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the blast in the Huai Ta Maria area of Kantharalak district was caused by “old mines dating back to previous conflicts.”
The ministry expressed concern over reports that Thailand had suspended implementation of a peace pact signed just two weeks earlier in Kuala Lumpur by the prime ministers of both nations, witnessed by US President Donald J. Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the then Asean chair.
According to Cambodian authorities, Bangkok cited yesterday’s explosion near the Phnom Trop area, close to Preah Vihear Temple, as the reason for halting the agreement and cancelling the planned release of 18 detained Cambodian soldiers.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia categorically denies the allegations by Thailand that new landmines have been laid by Cambodia at the border,” the statement said.
It added that many minefields from Cambodia’s civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s remain uncleared because of “difficult terrain and the undemarcated status of certain border areas.”
The statement reaffirmed Cambodia’s commitment to the October 26 Joint Declaration, which it described as “widely applauded by the international community,” and reiterated the country’s adherence to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.
“Cambodia has never used new landmines and will never do so,” it said.
