Southeast Asian countries condemn the United States for providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine: the victims will be civilian ammunition | Cluster | United States
On July 11th, according to Bloomberg, Southeast Asian countries have condemned the United States for providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine and demanded that the United States refrain from providing cluster ammunition to Ukraine to prevent significant harm to civilians in the conflict. The US military's cluster ammunition caused tens of thousands of casualties during and after the Vietnam War, and currently unexploded cluster ammunition is still found in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
On the 10th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos issued a rare statement online, calling on relevant countries or actors to stop using, transferring or producing such ammunition, in order to prevent civilians from becoming victims of such weapons again in the world. The statement states that as the world's largest victim of cluster ammunition and a contracting party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Lao People's Democratic Republic expresses deep concern over the announcement by relevant countries to provide cluster ammunition to conflicting parties and the possibility of one party using cluster ammunition.
The Cambodian government stated on social media platforms on the 9th that the use of cluster bombs within Ukraine would be the biggest danger faced by the Ukrainian people for many years or for a hundred years to come. Cambodia calls on the United States as a supplier and Ukraine as a recipient not to use cluster bombs in the conflict, as the real victims will be Ukrainians.
The US government announced on the 7th of this month that it will provide Ukraine with a new batch of military assistance, including the use of lethal cluster ammunition, which is classified as prohibited by US law. US officials acknowledge that the US is aware that cluster ammunition poses a threat to civilians, including children.
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