Overview: The US's provision of cluster ammunition to Ukraine has sparked widespread controversy and concerns about bombs | ammunition | US

BEIJING, July 11th (Xinhua) -- Summary: The United States' provision of cluster ammunition to Ukraine has sparked widespread controversy and concerns

Xinhua News Agency reporter

The US government has recently announced a new batch of military aid to Ukraine, including large lethal cluster ammunition classified as prohibited under US law, which has caused widespread controversy and concern in the international community.

The so-called cluster ammunition refers to airborne bombs or artillery shells made by combining more than ten or even hundreds of small ammunition. After being dropped, small bombs are released in the air on a large scale and detonated when or after touching the ground. These small bombs may also fail to detonate properly and become duds, posing a long-term threat to civilians near scattered locations.

Cluster ammunition has stronger killing power and a greater likelihood of causing civilian casualties than regular ammunition. The US military has used cluster ammunition in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan War, and Iraq War, causing extensive damage to civilian facilities and numerous civilian casualties.

During the Vietnam War, the US military dropped over 15 million tons of bombs in Vietnam, including cluster ammunition and vacuum incendiary bombs. In order to block the important passage for transporting goods from the south to the north of Vietnam - the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the US military has extensively used cluster ammunition. According to statistics, thousands of civilians have been injured or killed in Guangzhi Province, which is located on the north-south boundary of Vietnam.

Another data shows that unexploded bombs left over from war have caused over 42000 deaths and 62000 injuries in Vietnam, including many children. To clean up these bombs, Vietnam has invested a large amount of manpower and material resources.

Due to the Ho Chi Minh Trail passing through Laos, the Chuang Kuang Province in Laos, located on the Vietnam Laos border, has also been severely damaged by cluster ammunition. Countless buildings have been destroyed, the people have been displaced, and many lands have become permanently uncultivated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos issued a statement on the 10th, stating that as the world's largest victim of cluster ammunition and a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Laos is deeply concerned about the possible use of cluster ammunition. More than 50 years ago, the Laotian people were victims of this deadly cluster ammunition. Today, unexploded ordnance still poses a sustained and serious threat to the lives and well-being of the Laotian people.

Between 1964 and 1973, the United States launched a total of 580000 bombings in Laos, dropping over 2 million tons of bombs, which is equivalent to Laos being bombed every 8 minutes for a period of 9 years. The United States dropped over 270 million cluster munitions, of which about 30% were unexploded, and about 80 million small bombs were scattered and buried on the territory of Laos. Since 1996, only about 1% of unexploded ordnance in Laos has been cleared. Most cluster ammunition has been dropped in mountainous areas, rivers, and forests, causing disasters to this day.

According to data from Laos, since the end of the Vietnam War, more than 50000 people have been injured or killed in unexploded ordnance explosions left over from the Vietnam War in Laos. In 2021, there were 31 unexploded ordnance accidents in Laos, resulting in 11 deaths and 44 injuries; In 2022, Laos experienced 16 unexploded ordnance accidents, resulting in 5 deaths and 15 injuries.

At the same time, the cluster ammunition dropped by the United States in Cambodia in the past has continued to cause pain to the people of the country. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently stated on social media that as early as the early 1970s, Cambodia had suffered from cluster ammunition thrown by the United States. Now, more than half a century has passed, and Cambodia has not yet found a way to destroy all of these ammunition.

Hun Sen called on Ukraine not to use the cluster ammunition provided by the United States, as the use of these ammunition will bring the most serious danger to the bombed areas in the coming years or even 100 years.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at Cambodia's Beltai International University, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that half a century has passed and the bombs dropped by the United States during wartime still pose a threat to the daily lives of the Cambodian people. Matthews said that a large number of ordinary people have become victims of these unexploded ordnance and landmines, resulting in many deaths or disabilities. The United States has a moral responsibility for the suffering of these victims and an obligation from a moral and legal perspective to fully compensate those who died or were injured and their families.

Some allies of the United States have also publicly expressed a lack of support for the use of cluster ammunition. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Rovles said that providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine was a decision made by the United States rather than NATO, and Spain opposes providing certain weapons, including cluster ammunition, to Ukraine under any circumstances. British Prime Minister Sunak stated that the UK is a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and "does not encourage the use" of such weapons. The Canadian government stated that it does not support the use of cluster ammunition.