Cambodia Condemns Thailand’s Use of M46 Cluster Munitions

A Thai cluster munition sub-projectile, fired via a 155mm artillery shell on December 23. Heng Ratana

AKP Phnom Penh, December 24, 2025 —

Senior Cambodian mine officials are sounding an urgent alarm over the deployment of M46 cluster munitions by Thai military against Cambodia, labeling the weapons a “trap for civilians”.

In a statement released this morning, H.E. Senior Minister Ly Thuch, First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), said the M46 submunition is notorious for its extreme sensitivity.

“This model is extremely sensitive. A light touch. A small vibration. A child’s curiosity. A farmer’s tool in the soil. Any of it can kill,” he said. “These bomblets scatter across our land — our farms, our forests, our villages — and stay there long after the shelling stops. Invisible. Unmarked. Waiting.”

H.E. Dr. Ly Thuch added that for Cambodian farmers, this means fear every day they try to feed their families. For Cambodian children, this means death disguised as scrap or a toy.

“This is not defence. This is not accident. This is the deliberate poisoning of Cambodian land and Cambodian lives,” he stressed, continuing that Cambodia has a long and tragic history with unexploded ordnance (UXO), making the current situation particularly resonant.

“Using cluster munitions is not just an attack on today,” he emphasised. “It is an attack on Cambodia’s future.”

The CMAA First Vice President appealed to the international community to break its silence on the use of indiscriminate weaponry. “The world must see this. And it must not stay silent,” he concluded.

At the same time, H.E. Heng Ratana, Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), also strongly condemned Thailand’s use of M46 cluster munitions, which violates international laws.

“On Dec. 22-23, 2025, Thai military continues firing the cluster munitions 155MM projectiles with M46 cluster submunitions on the Cambodia’s territory, this act of aggression abuses the Oslo international cluster convention, and the targeting of civilians and residential areas are even worse by abusing a number of international laws.”

By C. Nika

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