Description: Thailand has accused Cambodia of violating the Ottawa land mine treaty, after a patrol of Thai solders encountered unexploded land mines which detonated on predetermined patrol routes with Cambodia. Cambodia has disqualified Thailand’s accusations by stating that the country is filled with unexploded ordnance from decades of war and accused Thailand for breaching the previously determined patrol routes and violating Cambodia’s territorial sovereignty. Thailand stated they would increase border patrol capacities and issue a formal condemnation of the incident requesting accountability from Cambodia. Cambodia has emphasized the need for the border dispute to be resolved through the ICJ (International Court of Justice) whose authority on the issue is contested by Thailand. The southeast Asian nations are entangled into a bilateral border dispute which started with an abrupt confrontation between border forces from both countries and instigated a political crisis in Thailand which caused the ousting of the country’s Prime Minister.
Impact: Revolving border confrontations between Thai and Cambodian soldiers negatively impact the disputed standoff which has been stagnating since Thailand plunged into political turmoil. The bilateral dispute, either by diplomatic negligence or through the intent of stalling has been ignored for couple of weeks while both countries reinforced their military buildup across their respective borders. Thailand’s government transformation hasn’t significantly impacted the border standoff, while Cambodia has remained inert in demanding for resolutions to the dispute. Cambodia also recently reinstated military conscription laws which significantly raised bilateral tensions with Thailand as the country was allegedly preparing for a direct military confrontation. Instability remains predominant, as both countries insist on unilaterally approaching the issue while the lack of diplomatic engagement represents an obstacle towards potential resolution in the near future.