Thai Army-linked page accuses Cambodia of misusing demining funds and breaching Ottawa Convention

The Facebook page “RTATrend” on Saturday accused Cambodia of misappropriating international funds intended for mine clearance and of violating the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.

The post followed an incident on Saturday morning in which three Thai soldiers were injured after stepping on a landmine while patrolling to secure the route between Ban Don Ao and Ban Kritsana in Si Sa Ket province.

The post reads:

“Cambodia Cheats International Funds!”

“They once suffered from landmines but violated the Ottawa Convention — Received funds for clearance, yet secretly used them against Thailand.”

Cambodia is considered one of the countries most severely affected by landmines in the world. The aftermath of the Khmer Rouge era and decades of civil war from the 1970s to the 1990s left the country littered with landmines, especially along the Thai–Cambodian border, which was once a major battlefield.

To address this problem, Cambodia joined the Ottawa Convention in 1999, which prohibits the production, use, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. It also commits signatories to clear mines within their territory and assist victims.

Over the years, Cambodia has continuously received financial support from the international community — including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Nations — through mine clearance and victim assistance programs. Examples include support for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), headed by Heng Ratana, and the UNDP’s “Clearing for Results” project. These funds aim to reduce risk, improve safety, and restore land for people’s livelihoods.

From such descriptions, Cambodia may seem like a pitiful country — but in reality, that’s far from the truth.

In the latest Thai–Cambodian border situation, Cambodia is still using PMN-2 anti-personnel mines. As a result, three Thai soldiers suffered severe injuries and lost limbs — two before an armed clash and one afterward.

Although Heng Ratana, Director of CMAC, has repeatedly denied that Cambodia uses landmines — claiming that any found were Thai mines located in Thai territory — this denial contradicts statements from Lieutenant General Mali Sojeata, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense, who said the mines were old and buried in Cambodian territory. However, recent images published by Cambodian media on 31 July 2025 at Ta Kwai Temple clearly indicate that Cambodia is still deploying landmines.

Even though the GBC meeting to ease border clashes has concluded, one of Thailand’s demands was for Cambodia to clear the mines — a request Cambodia has not accepted. This could be because Cambodia continues to lie to the international community, claiming it does not use landmines.

In the end, Cambodia keeps deceiving the world by denying landmine use while still accepting international funds for mine clearance. This clearly shows that Cambodia continues to exploit every possible channel to swindle money from other nations — living up to the nickname “Scambodia.”

Landmines may offer short-term advantages on the battlefield, but they bring long-term harm to civilians.