BANGKOK – Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador on July 23 and recalled its own envoy, after a Thai soldier lost a leg in a landmine blast as a border dispute festers.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said an investigation by the Thai military found evidence that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the disputed area.
A long-running territorial row in an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of both countries and Laos meet, boiled over into military clashes in May that left one Cambodian soldier dead.
Since then, the two sides have traded barbs and tit-for-tat retaliatory measures, with
Thailand restricting border crossings
and
Cambodia halting certain imports
.
Five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by the landmine in the afternoon of July 23 in the Nam Yuen district of north-eastern Ubon Ratchathani province, the Thai army said.
In response, the government agreed to an army proposal to close a number of border checkpoints, he said in a statement to journalists.
“It has also decided to downgrade diplomatic relations by recalling the Thai ambassador to Cambodia and expelling Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand,” he said.
The Thai army said in a statement that as well as the soldier who lost his leg, others suffered ear injuries and chest pain in the blast.
The army chief will visit the wounded soldiers on July 24.
The border dispute has soured relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok – prompting the closure of border crossings, and Cambodia blocking imports of fuel and gas as well as fruit and vegetables from Thailand.
It also kicked off a domestic political crisis in Thailand, where
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended
from office pending an ethics probe over her conduct during the row.
A diplomatic call between Ms Paetongtarn and Mr Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former long-time ruler and father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, was leaked from the Cambodian side, sparking a judicial investigation.
Last week, Mr Hun Manet announced that
Cambodia would start conscripting civilians next year
, activating a long-dormant mandatory draft law.
He said the tensions with Thailand meant conscription was needed, and the defence budget may also be increased. AFP
