BANGKOK, Dec. 13 — Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference Saturday that landmines causing Thai military casualties along the Thailand-Cambodia border were deliberately planted by Cambodia instead of an “accident,” expressing disappointment over U.S. President Donald Trump’s related social media remarks.
Sihasak said that the U.S. side may not have a full grasp of the facts or might have received inaccurate information.
He cited Cambodia’s seven documented instances of laying landmines along the border, as verified by independent observers, along with its premeditated BM-21 rocket attack on Thai civilian areas.
Countering Trump’s claim of an excessive response, the Thai foreign minister emphasized that his country’s response was proportional to the attacks it had endured.
Sihasak said that the Thai people were disappointed by Trump’s comment that the roadside bomb, which killed and injured multiple Thai soldiers, was an “accident,” noting that such remarks had hurt the feelings of the Thai people.
Sihasak also raised concerns that 6,000 to 7,000 Thai nationals were stranded on the Cambodian side of the Poipet border checkpoint, unable to return home.
He pointed out that Thailand had never hindered the repatriation of Cambodian citizens residing in the country, while Cambodia had repeatedly delayed the reopening of border crossings.
Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said they held separate phone talks with Trump on Friday regarding their border conflict.
On the same day, Trump posted on social media that the two leaders had agreed to a ceasefire effective Friday evening. Anutin said in a social media post on Saturday that his country will continue its military operations until Thailand’s territory and people are no longer under threat. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
