Thailand condemns new landmine incident on Thai soil near Cambodian border
The Thai government has issued its strongest condemnation yet of the use of anti-personnel landmines, calling it a grave violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a breach of core principles of international law.
In a statement on Saturday, the government said that on August 9 2025, three soldiers from the 1st Infantry Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment were conducting a routine patrol in the Don Aow–Kritsana area of Si Sa Ket province, within Thai territory that had recently been cleared of landmines.
The troops stepped on a newly planted mine, confirming Royal Thai Army investigation reports that fresh landmines have been laid in the area in blatant contravention of international law. It was the third such incident involving Thai forces in less than a month.
The statement reiterated that the use of anti-personnel mines is prohibited under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention), to which Thailand is a State Party. It said such acts undermine the principles of international law and international humanitarian law enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Thailand will lodge a formal protest with Cambodia and take further action under the Convention.
The government said Cambodia’s actions present a major obstacle to implementing the ceasefire agreement between the two countries. It renewed calls for Cambodia to immediately halt all violations of the Ottawa Convention, cease laying new landmines, and urgently cooperate in humanitarian demining along the border, as agreed by both prime ministers.
Thailand also raised the issue during the Extraordinary Session of the General Border Committee (GBC) in Kuala Lumpur on August 7 2025, but said the Cambodian side has yet to respond.
