BANGKOK, Thailand— On Wednesday, Thailand said it was taking stronger diplomatic steps against Cambodia. These steps included blocking border crossings in the northeast, pulling its ambassador out of Phnom Penh, and sending the Cambodian envoy to Bangkok home. This quick and strong action is in response to a recent landmine explosion that hurt a Thai soldier badly, causing him to lose his leg, and hurt four other soldiers.
The Thai Army said that the incident happened on Wednesday when a soldier stepped on a landmine in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. Bangkok blamed Cambodia, saying the Thai military didn’t make the mines, which were newly set along safe paths agreed upon by both sides and made in Russia.
But Cambodia quickly disagreed with Thailand’s story, saying that the explosion happened in its Preah Vihear district. The bomb location is in one of the minor areas along the common boundary that both countries claim. These areas are generally thought of as “no-man’s land” because the territorial disputes haven’t been settled yet.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai declared that the Thai government would respond strongly. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai announced that the Foreign Ministry will lodge a formal protest with Cambodia and implement additional measures. The landmine incident on Wednesday happened just a week after another one in a different disputed location near the border, where three more Thai soldiers were hurt, one of them lost a foot.
Cambodia has been charged by Thai authorities of breaking the Ottawa Treaty, which is an international agreement that forbids making and using anti-personnel landmines. They say that the mines were just put in place, but Cambodia strongly denies this.
Cambodia, on the other hand, called the Thai version of events “baseless accusations.” Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defense Ministry, said that the landmine explosion happened on Cambodian land and that Thailand broke a 2000 agreement “regarding the use of agreed paths for patrols.” Cambodia says that there are still many unexploded mines and other weapons left behind from decades of civil war and unrest (1970–1998), especially in border areas that used to be battlefields.
Worsening Relations and Political Fallout
The two Southeast Asian neighbors have been getting along less and less well, notably after an armed conflict on May 28 that killed one Cambodian soldier in one of the disputed border locations. Many border checkpoints are already closed or have limited hours because of the current tensions.
Strong nationalist feelings in both countries, which are based on a long history of hatred, have made it harder to calm things down.
The border dispute has significantly impacted Thai politics. Last month, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister, was put on leave. Some people said that during a phone discussion with Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen, she said something bad about Thailand’s military. Hun Sen then shared a recording of the call. Her suspension made the already unstable Thai political scene even more so, as the military has a history of becoming involved.
Cambodia has always denied putting additional mines along the border. The country talks about its lengthy history of dealing with a lot of unexploded ordnance. Since the end of its civil war, about 20,000 Cambodians have died and about 45,000 have been hurt by residual war explosives, but the number of deaths has dropped considerably recently.
The ongoing diplomatic impasse indicates a deterioration in the bilateral relationship, as both countries maintain their positions on the disputed border areas and the responsibility for landmine incidents.