Landmines in Cambodia: Past, Present, and Future By Wade C. Rober ...

in nature. Accordingly, his focus targeted the occurrence of accidents and, therefore, analyzed the economics of removing landmines/UXO from the soil. Tampering incidents now dominate the ordnance problem in Cambodia. More exactly, the majority of landmine/UXO incidents post–1999 have been tampering-specific ones. Therefore, my research steps away from the economics of landmine clearance and attempts to understand the linkage between economic vulnerability, poverty, the price of metal, and tampering incidents. It is my belief that the changing nature of incidents in Cambodia warrants a revisitation of approach.

1.6. Historical Background

An intricate web of political factions contributed to the current landmine and UXO predicament that exists in Cambodia. Official statistics from the CMVIS cite 63,003 in-country landmine-related incident occurrences from January 1, 1979, to December 31, 2007.⁶ Landmine/UXO incidents have occurred in every province and district of Cambodia in varying magnitudes. Critical military groups contributing to the current landmine/UXO problem in Cambodia have included US carpet bombers, Royal Government initiatives, the Khmer Rouge, Thailand border protectionists, and the Vietnamese-controlled People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). This chapter provides an historical delineation of each ordnance-contributing faction. In addition to demarcating each faction’s involvement, this chapter also evaluates the magnitude of ordnance contamination that fell consequent to the faction’s involvement and the residual impact of the contamination on Cambodia today.

Section 1.6.1 examines the role US carpet bombers played in plaguing Cambodia with UXO. Section 1.6.2 takes a look at initiatives within the Royal Government of Cambodia, which utilized ordnance. Section 1.6.3 considers the Khmer Rouge and the role itplayed in increasing landmine-related ordnance in Cambodia. Section 1.6.4 illustrates the impact Thai border protectionists played in complicating ordnance realities. Section 1.6.5 delineates PRK involvement in landmine-related ordnance contamination in Cambodia. In addition to the historical involvement and