Bangkok: The Royal Thai Army has clarified that the safety pin on the PMN-2 mine has not been pulled, addressing concerns about its status. Army spokesman Major General Winthai Suvari confirmed that the assertion by Mr. Heng Ratana, Director of CMAC, that the PMN-2 mines had not yet been detonated, was a misrepresentation of partial information intended to cause confusion.

According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Heng Ratana communicated to the public that the PMN-2 mine, which the Thai side displayed, had not been detonated and required removal of the safety pin to be operational. This clarification suggested that Thailand was misleading journalists and diplomats by creating a deceptive image.

Major General Winthai Suvari further explained that the mines exhibited to the foreign delegation were discovered during an operation by the Army Engineer Unit on August 4, 2015, in the Phu Makhuea area, previously occupied by Cambodian troops. Numerous mines, mainly PMN-2 types, were found, including both stored mines that were not yet deployed and deployed mines without deactivation pins. Both categories were presented to the foreign delegation on August 16, 2015.

In response to Mr. Heng Ratana’s use of selective images to support his claims, Major General Suvari stated that this attempt to distort facts aimed to create confusion and challenge the credibility of the Thai evidence. However, he expressed confidence that this effort would not succeed, as foreign representatives had already observed the detailed reality of the situation.