BANGKOK – Thai soldiers have discovered video and audio recordings on a Cambodian soldier’s mobile phone, showing Cambodian troops handling anti-personnel landmines. The Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters shared this update on its Facebook page on Tuesday evening.
Clearance Team 1 from the Royal Thai Navy’s Humanitarian Mine Action Unit found the clips during clearance work in Phu Makua, Si Sa Ket province. Soldiers from the 132nd Infantry Company, 13th Infantry Battalion (Nua Mek Base), assisted with these operations.
The headquarters explained that the phone held video clips and photos of Cambodian troops with PMN-2 anti-personnel landmines. Audio clips, recorded in Khmer, appeared to demonstrate how to use the mines before planting them covertly near the Thai border.
The files included timestamps, which provided clear evidence of ceasefire breaches and the illegal use of landmines, both serious offences under international conventions.
The navy clearance team acted quickly, securing and checking the evidence before handing it over to the Royal Thai Army for further procedures.
Soldiers Planting PMN-2 Anti-Personnel Landmines
Since mid-July, thirteen Thai soldiers have been hurt by Cambodian landmines near the border. Five have each lost a leg. The most recent incident happened on August 12. Most mines went off while Thai soldiers were on routine patrols on paths thought to be safe.
Thai officials have lodged protests over Cambodia’s use of anti-personnel landmines, which the Ottawa Treaty bans. Cambodia has always denied using these mines. The Cambodian military, meanwhile, explained a separate incident at Chong Arn Ma in Ubon Ratchathani to Thai commanders.
A senior Thai military intelligence officer said a Cambodian soldier, who caused a scene during a visit from foreign observers on Tuesday, was drunk at the time. Major General Kran Boonchai, deputy head of military intelligence, briefed observers from eight other ASEAN countries about the event.
He related that Cambodian border officers had informed their Thai counterparts that the soldier involved was intoxicated when he shouted at Thai soldiers and visiting ASEAN military observers over the landmines.
Cambodian Soldier Drunk
Maj Gen Kran spoke to the observers during their stop at Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Surin, which had suffered damage from Cambodian shelling.
Brigadier General Samsul Rizal Musa, Malaysia’s defence attaché to Thailand, led the observer group. The team spent three days visiting the Suranaree Task Force of the 2nd Army Region between August 18 and 20.
Lieutenant General Anuparp Sirimonthon, deputy army chief-of-staff and leader of the Thai group, said Thailand had presented clear facts about repeated Cambodian violations of the ceasefire. Despite the agreed truce, Phnom Penh’s military had often broken it.
He asked the military attachés to take note that Cambodia’s responses to the landmines had not been consistent or reliable.
Maj Gen Kran described serious damage done to hospitals, schools, and nearby communities from Cambodian artillery.
He listed three main violations of the 13-point ceasefire deal:
- Continued use of heavy weapons and landmines has injured Thai soldiers.
- Spreading of false information, contributing to ongoing tension over the landmines.
- Provocative actions, like using drones and sending more troops into disputed areas, with Cambodian forces still causing trouble at the An Ma checkpoint.
“These three problems must be tackled by the observer team,” Maj Gen Kran said. He warned that misinformation could sometimes do more harm than weapons.
“When we share the facts, Cambodia answers with more fake news, which brings back tension. A ceasefire alone does not solve the problem. False information keeps the conflict going,” he said.
Brig Gen Samsul thanked Thai representatives for their updates and said the observer team would include everything they had learned in their report.
“We are here to observe, not to decide who is at fault. But what happened yesterday, with a Cambodian soldier causing a disruption, showed unprofessional behaviour. The facts speak for themselves,” he said.
