On 23 July 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the relevant agencies, held a follow-up briefing session for 93 members of the Diplomatic Corps and Defence Attachés based in Thailand from 68 countries/organizations. The purpose was to provide updates on the Thailand–Cambodia border situation, particularly following the incident on 16 July 2025, where the Royal Thai Army personnel stepped on a landmine in the Chong Bok area, Ubon Ratchathani province. The Briefing was led by Mrs. Eksiri Pintaruchi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, while Ms. Pinsuda Jayanama, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, General Saksit Sangchanintra, Director-General of the Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC), and Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, Spokesperson (Security Affairs) of the Ad Hoc Center for Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation, joined to provide their respective briefings.
The Permanent Secretary opened by outlining the purpose of the Briefing, and reiterated Thailand's position on the matter, which is to condemn the use of landmines, which constitutes a violation of Thailand’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a clear breach of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The Permanent Secretary emphasized Thailand’s commitment to resolving the situation peacefully and through existing bilateral channels. The Spokesperson of the Ad Hoc Centre then provided information on the incident, from the security agencies’ standpoint, and actions taken by agencies on the ground. The Director-General of TMAC then presented on TMAC’s mission, in the context of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention), TMAC’s actions regarding the incident, and its bilateral engagements with Cambodia on Humanitarian Mine Action. After which, the Director-General of the Department of International Organizations underlined Thailand’s obligations as a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, including reporting landmines discovered in its territory and lodging a formal protest against Cambodia’s actions.
In addition, the Thai side informed the Diplomatic Corps of the various measures undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the handover of a formal protest letter to the representative of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to Thailand. Furthermore, through the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, Thailand has sent a letter to the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament, in his capacity as President-Designate of the Twenty-Second Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, in accordance with Thailand's obligations to the Convention.
To conclude, the Permanent Secretary reaffirmed Thailand's call for Cambodia to uphold its obligations under the Convention and to cooperate in resolving border issues with Thailand through established bilateral mechanisms between the two countries, towards security and stability of the border areas, and the safety of people on both sides. Such bilateral mechanisms include, in particular, the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), the General Border Committee (GBC), and the Regional Border Committee (RBC).
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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