By Kenny Teng
SISAKET (Thailand), Aug 16 (Bernama) — Thailand has urged Cambodia to join bilateral demining operations along their shared border to ensure long-term safety and foster peace.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Cambodia must show sincerity by cooperating with Thailand in joint clearance efforts, a proposal raised at the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting in Malaysia.
He emphasised that joint operations would serve as a genuine demonstration of goodwill to de-escalate tensions and ensure sustainable peace along the border.
“Landmines are indiscriminate weapons that inflict inhumane suffering on both soldiers and innocent civilians.
“Five Royal Thai Army personnel have lost their legs while 11 others sustained severe injuries as a result of landmines. This is a humanitarian issue that must be resolved to ensure long-term safety,” he told a press conference here.
On Saturday, Maris led a delegation of diplomats from 33 countries to Sisaket province in the northeast to inspect areas damaged by recent border clashes.
Maris said Thailand and Cambodia share a long common border, and that the people of both countries must continue to depend on one another.
“The presence of anti-personnel landmines not only endangers the lives and safety of both soldiers and civilians, but also leaves deep scars, fostering mistrust and hatred between our peoples.
“Anti-personnel landmines are indiscriminate weapons that harm both combatants and innocent civilians,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maris reaffirmed Thailand’s full commitment to its legal obligations under the Ottawa Convention, adopted by the international community in 1997 to ban the use of such weapons.
He said Thailand’s ongoing efforts to assist landmine survivors, enabling them to live with dignity and reintegrate into society, are part of the broader progress made by the international community in addressing the humanitarian consequences of landmines.
— BERNAMA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
