Thailand said on Monday it would halt progress on a peace deal with Cambodia signed in Malaysia last month and overseen by US President Donald Trump after a landmine explosion on the border injured several Thai soldiers.
Thailand and Cambodia engaged in a five-day border conflict in July that left dozens of people dead and around 200,000 displaced on both sides of the border.
The first ceasefire between the two Southeast Asian countries was agreed on July 28 after the US president spoke by phone with world leaders. Thailand and Cambodia subsequently signed a peace declaration in Malaysia in late October in the presence of President Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“We will suspend all agreements until Cambodia clearly and sincerely shows that it is not ‘hostile,'” General Thai Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Ukris Boontanonda said on Monday, according to a post on the Thai Armed Forces’ Facebook page.
“Everything has to stop,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
“What we have been doing all along, we have to consider stopping at this point until we have clarity,” Anutin said at the Royal Thai Police headquarters on Monday.
“What has happened means that the hostility we thought would diminish against threats to national security has not diminished. It has not diminished, so we cannot proceed any further.”
The apparent dramatic change in direction came after four Thai soldiers were injured on Monday in a landmine explosion in northeastern Thailand’s Si Saket province, on the volatile border with Cambodia.
The military said one soldier had his right leg amputated in the explosion, and another suffered shrapnel wounds to his leg. Royal Thai Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvari said the incident occurred while troops were conducting a “routine patrol along a frequently used route.”
Thailand accused Cambodia of planting new landmines after removing a barbed wire fence discovered on November 9.
Win Thai said the findings “violate the signed joint declaration and will inevitably affect Thailand’s position and various agreements.”
CNN cannot independently verify claims that the Cambodian military has laid new mines.
The Cambodian government said in a statement that it “categorically denies the allegations” and added that it “has not and will not plant” any new mines.
Cambodia also said it was “gravely concerned” by reports that Thailand was suspending its peace declaration and continuing to work on implementing the peace agreement.
“Most of the minefields along the Cambodia-Thailand border, created during the nearly 30-year Cambodian civil war in the 1970s and 1980s, have not yet been cleared due to the difficult terrain and unbounded state of the border area,” the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A Cambodian Ministry of Defense spokesperson said on Tuesday that “the situation remains calm” after militaries from both sides communicated after the mine explosion.
Thailand’s announcement also calls into question the already provisional release of 18 Cambodian prisoners who were due to be handed over under the terms of the declaration.
In late October, President Trump visited Malaysia as part of a three-stop tour of Asia and presided over the signing of a peace declaration between the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, amidst lavish praise from the US president for efforts to mediate the border dispute.
President Trump saw the moment as a major diplomatic victory and another blow to his vaunted, and often over-hyped, campaign of ending several wars.
Thailand and Cambodia have had brief skirmishes in recent decades over border disputes, with earlier fighting being one of the most serious in years. Both sides blamed the other for starting the recent escalation at the border and exchanged blame for the clashes.
The threat comes as President Trump has warned both leaders that he will not sign a trade deal with either side if the conflict continues, and both countries face increased tariffs from the United States under Trump’s global trade war.
The peace declaration included promises to remove heavy weapons from the border, carry out demining operations and ease tensions that had escalated into a brief but deadly border conflict.
The deal built on a cease-fire signed in July, but fell short of a “peace deal” despite President Trump repeatedly describing it as such. And analysts have warned there is a long way to go before a durable peace deal is reached.
Mr Anutin recognized the signing ceremony as a “concrete step towards peace” in the “full implementation” of the declaration. And Thai diplomats were cautious about the joint declaration, calling it a “reaffirmation” of the ceasefire agreed to by both sides in July.
At the time, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed his “strong determination to fully and faithfully implement this joint declaration.”
The landmine issue along the Thai-Cambodian border is also a major issue for Thais. The latest border flare-up came after five Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion, which prompted Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic ties with the neighboring country.
In recent decades, Thailand and Cambodia have developed a complex relationship of cooperation and conflict. The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, mapped primarily by France when it ruled Cambodia as a colony, and are subject to periodic military clashes.
Cambodia had previously sought a ruling on the disputed territory from the United Nations’ International Court of Justice. However, Thailand does not recognize the ICJ’s jurisdiction and maintains that some areas along the border, including the site of some ancient temples, were not fully demarcated.
The site of the latest mine explosion was in an area near Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has been the center of previous military conflicts.
The peace declaration did not resolve the territorial dispute over the two countries’ shared border.
