The government of Thailand has halted its participation in a U.S.-brokered peace arrangement with Cambodia after four Thai soldiers were injured when they set off a landmine on Nov. 10.
“The Royal Thai Armed Forces have suspended all agreements until Cambodia shows clear sincerity that it will not be ‘hostile,'” Thai military chief Gen. Ukris Boontanondha announced in a press statement.
Thai and Cambodian forces traded fire in July amid a territorial dispute. The two Southeast Asian countries entered into a cease-fire at the end of July, though the truce has been shaken by similar landmine blasts in recent months.
During a visit to Malaysia last month, President Donald Trump helped broker a broader peace arrangement, dubbed the “Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.” This peace agreement called for Thai and Cambodian forces to pull their heavy weaponry back from the disputed border zone and to de-mine the area.
Thailand had also committed to releasing several Cambodian soldiers taken as prisoners of war, once both sides had completed the initial military de-escalation steps.
Four Thai soldiers were injured Monday after setting off a landmine near the disputed border zone. The Thai military said the area where the blast occurred had previously been cleared of explosives and cordoned off with barbed wire, but asserted that those responsible for the attack had removed the barbed wire and placed new explosive devices.
Announcing the suspension of the peace process, Boontanondha said, “The Royal Thai Armed Forces are ready to uphold the honor and sovereignty of the nation, as well as the well-being of all Thai people.”
Responding to the accusations from the Thai side, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said it “categorically denies” having planted new landmines in the disputed border area. Cambodia’s foreign ministry said internal conflicts within Cambodia throughout the 1970s and 1980s had demonstrated that such weapons can persist and remain difficult to remove for years after a conflict has ended.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to affirm that Cambodia remains committed to implementing the Joint Declaration, which was signed amidst much applause from the international community,” Cambodia’s foreign ministry added.
“Cambodia, as a devoted advocate for and state party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, has never used any new landmines and will never do so.”
Despite the landmine blast, a senior Trump administration official told The Epoch Times that the president expects the cease-fire to hold.
“President Trump is committed to the continued cessation of violence and expects the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict,” the senior administration official said.
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