BANGKOK: Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said a border peace agreement with Cambodia cannot move forward unless Phnom Penh accepts responsibility for newly laid landmines. 

Leaders of the two nations on Oct 26 signed a ceasefire agreement following months of clashes along their contested border. 

But Bangkok suspended the pact on Nov 10 after a landmine blast injured two Thai soldiers near the border, and demanded an apology from Phnom Penh. 

That incident was the seventh time this year that newly laid landmines had injured Thai troops, Sihasak said. 

“We (were) forced to suspend implementation because of a serious breach by the Cambodian side,” he told CNA during an interview.

Cambodia maintains that the mines were remnants from past conflicts. However, an observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – the regional bloc both nations are members of – reported that the ones found at the latest incident site were new.

ADDRESSING PUBLIC ANGER

Landmines were not the only incidents inflaming Thai sentiment, said Sihasak.

He pointed to the clash between the two countries’ militaries in July, where Cambodia allegedly launched artillery fire into civilian sites in Thailand, causing a number of civilian deaths.

“What we have to bear in mind as we try to go forward with the implementation of the accord … is public sentiments,” he said. “Being a democracy … we have to take (into) consideration the feeling of the public.”

Still, Sihasak said Thailand is “committed to the implementation – faithful implementation – of the joint declaration”, as long as Cambodia accepts accountability. 

“We hope that the Cambodian side will recognise how important it is for them to...