South East Asia’s top diplomats met today in Malaysia in a bid to end deadly border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia that have killed at least 41 people and displaced close to one million others.
The talks aim to revive a ceasefire brokered in July by Malaysia, as ASEAN chair, alongside US President Donald Trump.
This was the first meeting between officials of Thailand and Cambodia since fighting resumed on 8th December. Both countries have blamed each other for the fresh hostilities.
In his opening remarks, Malaysia’s foreign minister asked both sides and other ASEAN members to give the matter the most urgent attention.
This conflict is rooted in a century-old dispute over the 11th-century Preah Vihear Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site located on a cliff between the two countries.
While the International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, the surrounding land remains disputed, leading to decades of periodic military skirmishes.
Cambodia has said that the talks aim to restore peace, stability and good neighbourly relations, adding that it would reaffirm its position that the disputes should be resolved through peaceful means.
Thailand, while calling the meeting an important opportunity, reiterated its conditions for negotiations, including a declaration of ceasefire from Cambodia first and a “genuine and sustained” ceasefire.
The US and China have also been attempting to mediate a new ceasefire. Thailand’s National Security Council secretary-general Chatchai Bangchuad on Monday acknowledged international efforts at the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur, but insisted “the process should be bilateral between Thailand and Cambodia”.
Meanwhile, Phnom Penh’s defence ministry said the fighting continued early on Monday with Thailand firing artillery shells into Cambodian territory, wounding one civilian.
The violence shattered a fragile truce reached after five days of clashes in July, mediated by the US, China and Malaysia. In October, US President Donald Trump backed a follow-on declaration touting trade deals after they agreed to prolong the truce.
Thai media report an “exchange of fire” in Sa Kaeo province and “heavy weapons” fire from Cambodian forces in the Khok Sung district.
Cambodia’s Interior Ministry says a Chinese national has been injured by Thai shelling. The US says both countries must cease hostilities while China says its mediation efforts will continue with the aim of resolving the border dispute through dialogue.
Thailand and Cambodia have engaged in daily exchanges of rockets and artillery along their 817-km (508-mile) land border following the collapse of the truce, with fighting at multiple points stretching from forested regions near Laos to the coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand.
The top diplomats of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged both countries to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps to halt fighting, while welcoming the planned meeting on Wednesday of the General Border Committee, a long-established mechanism for bilateral talks.