On Saturday morning, three Thai soldiers were injured after stepping on a landmine during a patrol along the disputed Thai-Cambodian border in Kantharalak district, Si Sa Ket province. According to Thai military officials, this marks the third such incident in less than a month involving newly planted explosives.

Phnom Penh, August 9, 2025 —The blast occurred at approximately 10 a.m. in the Don Ao-Krissana area as troops from the 1st Infantry Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment conducted a security sweep to install barbed wire fencing. The patrol was reportedly operating inside recently cleared Thai territory.

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). The ministry accused Cambodia of laying new mines in breach of the ceasefire agreement signed on July 28 and the recent extraordinary meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) held on August 7, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur. Bangkok announced it would lodge a formal protest and urged Phnom Penh to immediately halt mine deployment and cooperate on humanitarian demining efforts, as agreed by the two countries’ prime ministers.

In response, Cambodian Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Maly Socheata said the ministry had not received any clear information from Cambodian frontline forces regarding the incident, other than reports from Thai media. She emphasized that the Cambodian army continues to strictly respect the ceasefire spirit and the agreements reached at the recent GBC meeting.

“We hope the Thai side will also adhere to the points agreed upon in the extraordinary GBC meeting, especially the stipulation that both sides must refrain from moving troops or conducting patrols beyond their respective positions,” Maly Socheata stated.

Meanwhile, Cambodian political commentator Dr. Rin Vannak dismissed Thailand’s allegations, suggesting the possibility that Thai forces may have inadvertently stepped on mines within their own territory or crossed into Cambodian soil. “If you step on a mine on Thai soil, it means you stepped on yourself,” he said. “If you claim the mine belongs to Cambodia, it means you were on Cambodian soil.”