Thai land mine claims rejected by Cambodia in escalating dispute

The Star

4 days ago

PHNOM PENH: Thailand accused Cambodia of injuring its soldiers with land mines planted on the Thai side of their shared border, prompting Phnom Penh to reject the claim and suggest the incident may have been aimed at triggering a larger confrontation.
Three Thai soldiers were injured when they stepped on a land mine during a routine patrol along an established route on July 16, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Sunday (July 20). The mines were not of a type used by Thailand and were recently laid in a "blatant violation of international law,' it said.
"The Royal Thai Government condemns in the strongest terms the use of anti-personnel mines,' the ministry said, adding that it planned to take action against Cambodia under the United Nations' Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention while pursuing bilateral channels to resolve the ongoing dispute.
Cambodia said it "categorically denies' the claims, saying Thai soldiers violated a 2000 agreement "by deviating from their established patrol routes and creating a new route that entered Cambodia sovereign territory.'
"Their incursion resulted in injury due to a land mine - a remnant of war,' Cambodian defence spokesperson Maly Socheata said in a statement. "Was this an intentional act designed to provoke tension that could escalate the situation into confrontation?'
Neither side's statements could be immediately verified. But land mines laid decades ago have killed or injured thousands of people in Cambodia, according to the land mine clearance charity Halo Trust.
The border dispute between the two countries has blown up into a major point of contention, especially since a May 28 exchange of gunfire which killed a Cambodian soldier. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra subsequently sought to calm tensions in a call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, but the conversation was leaked, triggering an uproar at home and the Thai leader's suspension as premier by the Constitutional Court.
Paetongtarn, who is being probed for alleged ethical violations in her handling of the dispute, has insisted the government is standing up for Thai interests. The foreign ministry's late Sunday statement on the mines represents its strongest language towards Cambodia since the dispute started in May.
The mines were found in Chong Bok, site of the May exchange of fire. Thai officials said that incident occurred because Cambodian soldiers were digging a trench in the border area and opened fire on Thai soldiers, while Cambodia said its troops have long been stationed there and blamed the Thai side for shooting first.
"Thailand calls on Cambodia to cooperate on humanitarian demining efforts along the border of the two countries as bilaterally agreed by both Prime Ministers,' the country's foreign ministry said.
Both countries have a history of clashes over land disputes but have largely maintained cordial relations since a deadly conflict in 2011 left dozens dead. Since May, both sides have massed troops along the frontier and limited land crossings that act as vital trade links.
Cambodia has said it wants the International Court of Justice in the Hague to help settle the disputed status of Chong Bok and three other disputed border areas. Thailand doesn't recognise the court's jurisdiction. - Bloomberg