The European Union is providing €3 million to support humanitarian mine action and confidence-building efforts in Cambodia and Thailand following the 2025 border conflict.
Work in Cambodia will focus on land surveys and the clearance of cluster munitions — weapons that disperse many smaller bomblets over a wide area — in contaminated border areas of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces, the European External Action Service (EEAS) reported on Tuesday.
The EU said it is partnering with APOPO and the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) on the operations, with up to €1.6 million allocated for the Cambodia intervention.
The programme is expected to release 5,724,000 square metres of contaminated land, directly enabling displaced people to return home.
The EU noted it is the first donor to directly support activities related to unexploded ordnance contamination after the 2025 border conflict — unexploded ordnance refers to bombs, shells or other explosive weapons that did not detonate as intended and can remain dangerous for years.
Work planned in Thailand and cross-border dialogue
The initiative will also include complementary activities in Thailand aimed at strengthening humanitarian mine action capacity for survey and “land release” — the process of confirming that areas are safe for use — in line with national needs and in cooperation with relevant partners, the EU said.
Alongside clearance and survey work, the EU said its wider programme will support confidence-building processes between Cambodia and Thailand through dialogue initiatives involving stakeholders from both sides.
