Unofficial Translation
Press Release
The Spokeswoman of the Ministry of National Defence of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to inform the general public, as well as members of the national and international media outlets, as follows:
On Monday, August 31, 2026 at 08:50 AM, the Cambodian liaison Group (CLG) facilitated the ASEAN Observer Team–Cambodia (AOT-KH) and the Military Attaché Corps Phnom Penh (MACPP) to attend a presentation by His Excellency Heng Ratana, Royal Government Delegate and the Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) about the “Update on the Situation of Thailand’s Remnants of War on Cambodia's Territorial Integrity after 2025 conflicts” at the CMAC Headquarters in Phnom Penh.
The event was attended by a total of 37 ASEAN Observers led by Commodore Glenn Z. Dizon, Head of Mission of the ASEAN Observer Team to Cambodia from the Republic of the Philippines, and 16 members of the foreign Military Attaché Corps in Phnom Penh from friendly nations and ASEAN member states.
This important presentation aims to provide the ASEAN Observer Team (AOT) and foreign military attachés with up-to-date and technical information on the research, assessment and mapping of areas affected by remnants of war, as well as to enhance a deeper understanding of the situation and scope of the impacts of the Thai military invasion of Cambodian territory in 2025, especially remnants of war and unexploded ordnance (UXO) that continue to pose risks to the lives, safety, and livelihoods of people in the affected areas, where some Cambodian civilians have not yet been able to return to their homes. The information also serves as the basis to support the implementation of observing, verifying, and reporting tasks in a professional and verifiable manner.
The presentation also revealed that 349 villages were affected and more than 640,000 civilians were immediately evacuated to safety areas. In this regard, CMAC has completed information research on 335 villages and identified a total of 386,880 hectares of affected areas covering 5,409 polygons, of which more than 295,096 hectares are threatened by cluster munitions, and collected and identified more than 16,000 testimonies.
It is important to emphasize that Cambodia has always provided full support to the ASEAN Observer Team (AOT) and emphasizes the indispensable importance of strengthening the role and mandate of the AOT to conduct on-site inspections to verify and ensure the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire, aiming to promote transparency, accountability and mutual trust.
The public, as well as national and international journalists, are hereby informed of the facts regarding this matter.
Monday, 31 August 2026
