AKP Phnom Penh, December 03, 2025 --

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) has strongly rejected the recent statements made by the Thai Foreign Minister in Nikkei Asia on Dec. 1, 2025, alleging that Cambodia is responsible for "newly laid landmines" along the border and calling for measures under Article 8 of the Ottawa Convention.

“These allegations are baseless, unilateral, and entirely contrary to all verified facts,” CMAA underlined in a press release made public this morning.

According to the press release, Cambodia issues the following clarifications:

“1. Cambodia has not laid any anti-personnel mines, now or at any time since joining the Ottawa Convention. For more than thirty years, Cambodia has not used such mines, and its armed forces operate under strict national and international obligations. No orders or authorisations for mine use exist, and Cambodia's commitment to the Convention is unwavering, demonstrated through decades of transparency, cooperation, and sustained mine-action efforts.

2. Border mine contamination is historical and long-standing, stemming from conflicts along the Thai-Cambodian border in the 1970s-1990s involving multiple armed actors.

3. Thailand frequently conducts demining and technical activities unilaterally along the border, without coordination, transparency, or respect for established mechanisms. Such behaviour undermines joint efforts and contradicts the humanitarian and cooperative spirit of the Ottawa Convention. Humanitarian mine action must be guided by professionalism, neutrality, and mutual respect not unilateral actions or political motivations.

4. Cambodia's record in mine action is one of transparency, leadership, and humanitarian commitment, with internationally recognised achievements including the clearance of over 3,000 km² of contaminated land, which found and destroyed over 1.2 million anti-personnel landmines and over 3 million explosive remnants of war. Cambodia actively supports demining wherever it is needed and has never obstructed the humanitarian efforts of any neighbouring country. Our role has always been to advance and strengthen humanitarian clearance, promoting cooperation through dialogue, mutual agreement, and the use of existing joint mechanisms to ensure all border issues are addressed peacefully and professionally.

5. Humanitarian issues must never be politicised, yet Cambodia is deeply concerned that unverified claims are being used to drive political narratives rather than technical truth, risking regional trust and undermining decades of progress. Mine action must remain a humanitarian endeavour, not a tool for political escalation. Cambodia will not be drawn into rhetoric or unilateral narratives; our approach remains grounded in evidence, cooperation, and established mechanisms, in full respect of the humanitarian nature of mine action.

6. Thailand has consistently and strategically used landmine incidents to discredit Cambodia's mine action achievements and contributions and damage Cambodia's reputation as a steadfast advocate of and committed State Party to the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention.

7. Thailand's narratives and actions on landmine incidents have abused the spirit of the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention and aim to create frictions among State Parties and the international community.

8. Thailand has used landmine incidents as a pretext and prelude to armed conflicts with Cambodia to advance its territorial claim based on its unilateral map. Thailand has used the landmine incidents to divert attention of the public and the international community from colossal destruction and damages caused by its excessive and disproportionate uses of forces and weapons during the five-day armed conflicts and its on-going violations of Kuala Lumpur Accord and Joint Declaration.

9. Cambodia calls for professionalism, neutrality, and evidence-based assessment, urging all partners and States Parties to support technical evidence, verified procedures, neutral expertise, joint cooperation, and respect for existing mechanisms, rather than relying on unilateral accusations that undermine the Convention.

10. Cambodia remains fully committed to peace, stability, and strict compliance with the Ottawa Convention.”

A Cambodian deminer expert inspects an unexploded MK-84 aerial bomb, dropped by Thai armed forces in Oddar Meanchey province during the five-day armed conflict in July. (Photo: CMAC)

AKP