KT Sokunthea

 

The United States has renewed its support for Cambodia’s mine clearance efforts, pledging $675,000 (£555,000) in fresh funding despite a broader freeze on foreign aid programmes.

 

Announced by the US embassy on Monday, the grant will sustain demining operations from November 2025 through April 2026, following a waiver issued earlier this year that allowed scheduled aid to continue. The move comes amid growing concern over the future of humanitarian support after President Donald Trump’s decision to shutter the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

Cambodia remains one of the world’s most mine-affected countries, with an estimated 4 to 6 million unexploded munitions still buried across its countryside—remnants of decades of conflict between 1970 and 1998. Since then, nearly 20,000 people have been killed and 45,000 injured by leftover explosives.

 

Despite these grim figures, Cambodia has earned global recognition for its demining expertise. Thousands of Cambodian technicians have been deployed under UN auspices to assist operations in Africa and the Middle East. Heng Ratana, head of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, welcomed the renewed US support, calling it a sign of Washington’s “continued commitment” to the country’s recovery.

 

However, tensions remain. Thailand recently accused Cambodia of laying new antipersonnel mines along their shared border, following armed clashes in July. Cambodia has firmly denied the claims.

 

Meanwhile, China—keen to expand its influence in Southeast Asia—has also highlighted its contributions to Cambodia’s demining efforts, adding a geopolitical layer to the humanitarian mission.

 

As global aid budgets tighten, Cambodia’s mine clearance programme stands as a rare example of sustained international cooperation—one that continues to save lives and restore land, metre by painstaking metre.

 

 

-2025-09-30

While they put mines on the border with Thailand.

Quid pro quo for the Nobel Peace Prize for Dear Leader