The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) has rejected accusations by Thailand’s foreign minister that Cambodia laid new landmines along the border, calling the claim “baseless, unilateral, and contrary to the facts”.
On Wednesday, December 3, the CMAA issued a stern denial of comments made by Sihasak Phuangketkeow, which were published in Nikkei Asia on December 1. He claimed that Cambodia had planted new mines along the border and called for the application of measures under Article 8 of the Ottawa Treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines.
The CMAA clarified that Cambodia has not laid any anti-personnel mines, now or at any time since joining the Ottawa Convention. For more than thirty years, Cambodia has not used such mines, and its armed forces operate under strict national and international obligations.
“No orders or authorisations for mine use exist, and Cambodia’s commitment to the Convention is unwavering, demonstrated through decades of transparency, cooperation and sustained mine-action efforts,” it said.
“Border mine contamination is historical and long-standing, stemming from conflicts along the Thai-Cambodian border in the 1970s-1990s involving multiple armed actors,” it added.
It highlighted that Thailand frequently conducts demining and technical activities unilaterally along the border, without coordination, transparency or respect for established mechanisms. Such behaviour undermines joint efforts and contradicts the humanitarian and cooperative spirit of the Ottawa Convention. It noted that humanitarian mine action must be guided by professionalism, neutrality and mutual respect, not unilateral actions or political motivations.
According to the CMAA, Cambodia’s record in mine action is one of transparency, leadership and humanitarian commitment, with internationally recognised achievements including the clearance of over 3,000 square kilometres of contaminated land, during which over 1.2 million anti-personnel landmines and over 3 million explosive remnants of war were destroyed. Cambodia actively supports demining wherever it is needed and has never obstructed the humanitarian efforts of any neighbouring country.
“Our role has always been to advance and strengthen humanitarian clearance, promoting cooperation through dialogue, mutual agreement and the use of existing joint mechanisms to ensure all border issues are addressed peacefully and professionally,” it added.
The mine authority suggested that humanitarian issues should never be politicised, while expressing concerns that unverified claims are being used to drive political narratives rather than technical truth, risking regional trust and undermining decades of progress.
“Mine action must remain a humanitarian endeavour, not a tool for political escalation. Cambodia will not be drawn into rhetoric or unilateral narratives; our approach remains grounded in evidence, cooperation and established mechanisms, in full respect of the humanitarian nature of mine action,” it said.
The CMAA noted that Thailand has consistently and strategically used landmine incidents to discredit Cambodia’s mine action achievements and contributions and damage Cambodia’s reputation as a steadfast advocate of and committed State Party to the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention.
“Thailand has used landmine incidents as a pretext and prelude to armed conflicts with Cambodia to advance its territorial claims based on a unilateral map,” the CMAA reiterated, adding that Thailand has used the landmine incidents to divert the attention of the public and the international community from colossal destruction and damage caused by its excessive and disproportionate uses of force during the five-day armed conflict of July, and its on-going violations of the Kuala Lumpur Accord and Joint Declaration.
“Cambodia calls for professionalism, neutrality and evidence-based assessment, urging all partners and state parties to support technical evidence, verified procedures, neutral expertise, joint cooperation and respect for existing mechanisms, rather than relying on unilateral accusations that undermine the Convention,” it said, noting that the Kingdom remains fully committed to peace, stability, and strict compliance with the Ottawa Convention.
