MOFAIC Once Again Rejects Thailand’s Baseless Landmine Allegations

MOFAIC Once Again Rejects Thailand’s Baseless Landmine Allegations

Phnom Penh, 14 August 2025 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) of Cambodia has once again issued a statement firmly rejecting what it described as fabricated and groundless accusations by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Cambodia has planted new landmines.

H.E. Chum Sounry, Secretary of State and Spokesperson for the MOFAIC, stressed that Cambodia has never planted new landmines. As a State Party to the Ottawa Convention since 1999, Cambodia has been internationally recognized for its achievements in mine clearance both domestically and abroad. He underlined that the allegations of new mine planting are completely without credible evidence. The rejection was made during the Ministry’s daily press briefing on “The Results of the Cambodia–Thailand Ceasefire Implementation,” held at the Office of the Council of Ministers at 7:00 a.m. on August 14, 2025.

On that occasion, H.E. Chum Sounry noted that all mine-related incidents have occurred in disputed areas or within Cambodian territory recognized internationally under the 1904 Convention and the 1907 Treaty, as reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings in 1962 and 2013. He also cited the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU 2000), which prohibits unilateral military activities in undemarcated border areas—obligations that Thailand has repeatedly violated.

The Spokesperson stressed that these incidents stemmed from Thai troops entering areas known to contain landmines, in direct contravention of the Joint Border Affairs Committee (JBC) meeting record of August 7, 2025, which prohibits troop movement beyond existing positions. He further clarified that the landmines present in these locations date back to Cambodia’s internal conflicts of the 1970s and 1980s.