MFA to lodge complaint

Landmine 'breaches Ottawa convention'

- POST REPORTERS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is preparing to lodge a formal protest against Cambodia after three Thai soldiers were injured by an antipersonnel landmine near the Thai-Cambodian border in what may be a breach of the Ottawa Convention.

Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said the army is investigating whether the mine was a newly planted device or a remnant, with the result expected within days or early next week.

If it is confirmed to be a new landmine, the army will raise the issue with its Cambodian counterpart while the MFA will proceed through proper channels in accordance with the Ottawa Convention and other frameworks such as the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on border demarcation, he said.

Both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, which officially prohibits the use of antipersonnel landmines. Cambodia ratified it in 1997, while Thailand ratified it in 1999.