Cambodia Denies Thai Military Claim of Border Landmine Blast

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 3, 2025) — Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense has rejected a claim by Thailand’s 2nd Army Area that a landmine explosion occurred along the border on Dec. 2 and was planted by Cambodian forces.

In a statement Wednesday, ministry spokeswoman Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said Cambodia “categorically rejects and entirely dismisses” the allegation, describing it as an attempt to mislead the international community and justify what Phnom Penh called efforts to intrude into Cambodian territory.

Thailand’s 2nd Army Area reported on its official page that an explosion took place in the Huai Tamaria area at 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 2. Cambodian Military Region 4, however, said no blast was heard at that time.

Socheata reaffirmed that Cambodia has not laid new mines since becoming a State Party to the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention, stressing full compliance with international obligations. She accused Thailand of using “false information” as a pretext to violate Cambodia’s sovereignty.

The ministry also cited Cambodia’s commitment to the Joint Declaration on Peace signed Oct. 26, 2025, which obliges both sides to avoid spreading misleading information and to reduce border tensions.

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority earlier rejected similar claims by Thailand’s foreign minister, calling them “baseless, unilateral and contrary to verified facts.”

CMAA said any remaining contamination is historical, dating back to conflicts in the 1970s through the 1990s, and reaffirmed Cambodia’s decades-long compliance with the Ottawa Convention through transparency and sustained mine clearance.