The Thai Army has accused Cambodia of multiple violations of the ceasefire agreement since July 29th, aimed at provoking a retaliation by Thai troops for its own political gains, in total disregard for the safety of the people and good neighbourly relations among ASEAN member countries.
Army Spokesman Maj-Gen Winthai Suvaree summed up Cambodia’s alleged violations over the past 53 days as the following:
- Laying of both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle landmines: 349 anti-personnel landmines, 4 anti-vehicle landmines, 75 unexploded bombs and over 2,000 explosive devices were found and collected between August 10th and September 20th. A number of Thai soldiers were injured in three landmine detonations.
- Small arms fire: Cambodian troops fired small arms towards Thai border forces in Si Sa Ket province on several occasions, apparently in an act of provocation.
- Intrusion into Thai airspace by Cambodian drones: 2,905 sightings of Cambodian drones in Thai airspace were reported between July 28th and September 16th, mostly in areas under the jurisdiction of the Second Army Region.
- Spreading of fake news by Cambodia, including Cambodia’s persistent denials that they have laid landmines and claims of the use of chemical weapons by Thai troops.
- The use of women, children and monks as human shields in protests against Thai forces erecting border barricades at Chong An Ma in Ubon Ratchathani and, recently, in Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Sa Kaeo province.
Winthai noted that, during most protests by Cambodian civilians, Cambodian troops present at the scene did not intervene, making it necessary for Thai forces to resort to crowd control measures to deal with the protesters.
Citing these incidents, Winthai said that it could be concluded that Cambodia lacks sincerity in its efforts to resolve the border conflict in a peaceful manner, but has tried to create more problems, through the use of the masses and various organisations, and create a false impression that Cambodia is a peace-loving country being victimised by Thailand.
