Thailand’s fragile peace accord with Cambodia is in jeopardy after two Thai soldiers were seriously injured in a landmine explosion near the border, prompting Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to suspend the month-old agreement, Bloomberg reported.
The soldiers were conducting a routine patrol in Si Sa Ket province when they stepped on what the army believes were newly planted mines. It marked the seventh explosion in four months, following a string of blasts in July that sparked the deadliest border clashes between the two nations in years.
“Everything we have been doing until now will be stopped until there is more clarity,” Anutin told reporters. “What happened shows that the hostility hasn’t decreased as we thought. So we can’t proceed any further.”
Under the suspension, Thailand has frozen all activities tied to the Kuala Lumpur peace accords, a Malaysia- and U.S.-brokered deal signed in October. This includes the planned release of 18 detained Cambodian soldiers, who have been held since July after violent skirmishes erupted in disputed areas.
The two countries had been preparing to withdraw heavy weapons from the border and begin joint landmine clearance operations later this year.
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry has yet to comment on the suspension, but the development threatens to derail months of diplomatic progress aimed at easing long-standing tensions over the Preah Vihear Temple region — a historic flashpoint for conflict.
Anutin has also ordered Thailand’s foreign and defence ministries to file a complaint with ASEAN’s military observer team, which has been monitoring the peace process. He is expected to visit the injured soldiers in Si Sa Ket tomorrow and chair a meeting to reassess Thailand’s stance on the accord.
The landmine blast is the latest setback in a relationship already strained by Thailand’s calls for Cambodia to clamp down on cross-border cyber scam networks.
The October peace deal, signed in Kuala Lumpur under Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship, was hailed as a major breakthrough for regional stability. But the latest violence, Bloomberg noted, has cast serious doubt on whether the fragile truce can survive.
