Thailand’s red herring tactic through endless landmine accusation

Thailand’s red herring tactic through endless landmine accusation

A red herring fallacy is a type of logical fallacy where irrelevant information is introduced to divert attention from the main issue being discussed. It’s a way of changing the subject or distracting the audience with something unrelated to the original topic, making it harder to focus on the actual issue. The term comes from the practice of using a strong-smelling herring to train hunting dogs to follow a scent, then using another herring to throw them off the original trail.

This is the tactic that Thailand is currently using when it keeps accusing Cambodia on landmine issues. In Khmer we say, “bai lok bai lor” or “children’s plays” in which Thailand is trying to play to divert international attention.

There should be two main purposes in using red herring tactics: one is to divert attention, and another one is to conceal something.

1. To divert attention

The purpose is to shift international attention to something that is totally irrelevant and in due course the international opinion would lose track of the main issues.

The endless accusations on landmines and the usage of Thai beauties serve to divert international attention and Thai public audiences.

The result has been quite effective when we can see that the media starts talking about Thai beautiful spokeswoman and interpreter, and unconsciously lose track what is the key issue at stake.

This is the tactic to dilute the main issue. Thailand would be most satisfied to see Cambodia trying hard to stand at the defensive line against the endless accusations on landmines, and international observers start to get fed up with repeating headlines that seem to go nowhere.

All PMN-2 landmines are unarmed, but Thai claimed that Cambodian Armed Forces laid them in Thailand.

Imagine how long you can keep yourself focused on international issues that don’t really affect your daily lives. Thus, if the international audiences keep seeing the news about landmine dramas, on and on every day, they will lose focus in the long run, inevitably.

2. To conceal something

We need to ask what are the key issues that Thailand is trying to conceal.

Remember, Thailand has not released the 18 Cambodian soldiers that it has unlawfully captured after the ceasefire took effect.

Remember, Thailand acknowledged the use of internationally condemned cluster bombs against Cambodia, which will cause lasting effects on the daily lives of Cambodian people even after the war.

Remember, Thailand acknowledged the use of White Phosphorous, which can cause deep burns down to the bones, and whose remnants of the substance in the tissues can ignite again after the initial treatment.

Remember, Thailand bragged about the use of F-16 and Gripen fighter jets to penetrate deep into Cambodian territory and to drop heavy bombs such as MK-82 (around 220 kg) and MK-84 (almost a ton) while Thailand is trying to argue that its act was mere self-defence. The average cruising speed of an F-16 Fighting Falcon is around 800-900 km/h and thus it can never be justified that Thailand was acting in self-defense within the vicinity of conflicting border areas.

Then one could ask, what is Thailand’s end goal?

The goal is to find every possible means to derail the hard-earned ceasefire agreement brokered by Malaysia, and forced upon by President Donald J. Trump.

It is not hard to decipher Thailand’s intention.

Consider this.

Read the Facebook posts of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

On 19 August, Facebook page of PM Anwar wrote, “After speaking with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet, I also spoke with acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to discuss the current situation regarding the Cambodia-Thailand ceasefire. In the discussion, we also emphasized in addition to the efforts of the interim observer team (IOT) that continues to closely monitor the situation at the border, in addition to examining several other initiatives that can be moved towards consolidating the ceasefire monitoring operations.”

On the same day, Facebook page of PM Hun Manet wrote, “Earlier today, 19 August 2025, I had a phone call with His Excellency Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia and current Chair of ASEAN regarding the progress of the implementation of the ceasefire, that was agreed upon between Cambodia and Thailand at the Special Meeting on 28 July 2025, in Putrajaya, and the Extraordinary Meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee (Extraordinary GBC) on 7 August 2025, in Kuala Lumpur; which were both coordinated and facilitated by Malaysia. We also discussed the needs for a quick establishment of the ASEAN Observer Team (AOT) and the operation of the Interim Observer Team (IOT). Both AOT and IOT are important mechanisms for effectively monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire.”

The main difference here is that the above message did not mention ASEAN Observer Team (AOT). What we can read between the lines is that Cambodia is insisting for AOT while Thailand rejects the idea and therefore PM Anwar could not write about AOT in his Facebook post.

Consider this. Why Thailand is afraid of AOT?

Enough of Thailand’s red herring tactics. Enough of Thai soap opera and beauty queens.

Let’s bring Thailand to the heart of the matter, which is that the Cambodian border conflict is being used to divert national and international attention to the internal power struggle in Thailand between the civilian government and the monarchy-backed military establishment.

Cambodia needs justice. Cambodia needs peace.

By Chan Kunthiny – a Phnom Penh-based geopolitical and security analyst

The views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own.