SI SA KET, Thailand — Three Thai soldiers were wounded Saturday morning after stepping on a landmine during a patrol along the disputed Thai-Cambodian border, in what Bangkok says is the third such incident in under a month caused by newly planted explosives.

The blast occurred around 10 a.m. in the Don Ao-Krissana area of Kantharalak district as troops from the 1st Infantry Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment conducted a security sweep to lay barbed wire fencing. The patrol was operating inside Thai territory that had recently been cleared of mines, military officials said.

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident as “a clear violation” of its sovereignty, international law, and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention), accusing Cambodia of laying new mines in breach of both the treaty and a recently agreed ceasefire.

Bangkok said it will lodge another formal protest and urged Phnom Penh to immediately stop deploying mines and cooperate on humanitarian demining, as agreed by the prime ministers of both countries. Thai officials said the issue was tabled at an Aug. 7 General Border Committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur but claimed Cambodia has yet to respond.

The ministry warned the continued use of mines “poses a significant obstacle” to peace efforts along the tense frontier.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian political commentator Dr. Rin Vannak dismissed Thailand’s allegations, suggesting they implied either self-inflicted harm or incursion into Cambodian territory: “If you step on a mine on Thai soil, it means you are stepping on yourself… If you claim the mine belongs to Cambodia, it means you are walking on Cambodian soil”.