AKP Phnom Penh, October 09, 2025 --

The Cambodia-Thailand Joint Coordinating Task Force (JCTF) on Humanitarian Demining has achieved significant progress, reaching agreement on numerous points of its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), according to H.E. Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of National Defence.

The JCTF held its second meeting via VTC this morning, which concluded at 1:20 p.m. the same day, she said.

The remaining points will be further discussed by both sides to finalise the SOP, the spokeswoman added.

The first JCTF meeting took place on Sept. 24, 2025, also via VTC. The establishment of the JCTF followed the outcome of the First Special Meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) held on Sept. 10, 2025, in Koh Kong province, where both sides agreed to set up the mechanism to coordinate humanitarian demining activities in priority areas along the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Cambodia has been actively engaged in mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance since 1992. Over the past 33 years, the Kingdom has successfully reduced annual mine casualties from some 4,000 in the 1990s to fewer than 100 in 2020. In the same period, Cambodia has cleared approximately 3,307 square kilometres of land and destroyed more than 4.3 million landmines and UXOs.

Furthermore, Cambodia has transformed from a war-torn, mine-affected country into an active contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations and has extended its demining expertise to other conflict-affected nations.

By C. Nika