Washington has decided to restrict the use of anti-infantry mines by U.S. troops on the battlefield, with the exception of North Korea!
On Tuesday, Washington said it would further restrict the use of anti-infantry mines by U.S. troops in the future, a decision that also meant the United States was one step closer to signing the Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. Signed in the mid-1990s, the Treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of States and to destroy all anti-infantry mines that can cause harm to people.
Up to now, more than 160 countries have participated in the signing of the Convention, but it does not include the three major powers of China, the United States and Russia, as well as India, North Korea, Cuba and other countries. In fact, during the Obama era, the US government promised to join the Mine Ban Treaty, but then this commitment was overturned by Trump; At that time, U.S. Defense Secretary Esper said: "Anti-infantry mines are a very important weapon that can ensure the success of U.S. combat operations and the safety of personnel."
Frankly speaking, anti-infantry mines can indeed provide great lethality on the battlefield, but because of their extremely deployable concealment, they also pose a great threat to civilian lives after the war: in 2018 alone, the number of civilians who died from landmines left on the battlefield world exceeded 3,000, and the number of civilians disabled by mines exceeded 4,000.
Although the United States said this time that it would restrict the use of anti-infantry mines by the US military, that is, not to develop, not to produce, not to purchase, not to export, not to transfer, and to take destruction actions at the same time, there is one country that is excluded by the United States in the object of use, that is, North Korea. The White House said restrictions on the use of anti-infantry mines by U.S. forces are only in effect for countries and regions outside of North Korea. This means that if it is a war on the Korean Peninsula, the United States will not hesitate to choose to use anti-infantry mines.
