KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Cambodia and Thailand agreed Monday to hold border talks this week, after a regional meeting in Malaysia aimed at halting deadly clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbors.
Renewed fighting this month, which shattered a previous truce, has killed at least 23 people in Thailand and 20 in Cambodia, and displaced more than 900,000 on both sides, officials said.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow announced the planned bilateral parley after a meeting with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Cambodia is also a member.
He told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the discussion would be held Wednesday in southern Thailand’s Chanthaburi within the framework of an existing bilateral border committee.
The Thai foreign ministry said in a statement that the committee would be convened for both nations’ militaries to “discuss implementation, related steps and verification of the ceasefire in detail.”
Cambodia’s interior ministry, noting preparations for Wednesday’s meeting, said it welcomed the regional efforts to sustain a truce and end hostilities.
“We remain optimistic that the Thai side will demonstrate sincerity in fully implementing the ceasefire in line with ASEAN’s objectives,” it said in a statement.
Thailand’s Sihasak, however, cautioned that the upcoming meeting may not immediately produce a truce.
“Our position is a ceasefire does not come with an announcement, but must come from actions,” he said.
Monday’s meeting was convened by ASEAN chair Malaysia, which in late October hosted a summit where a truce declaration was signed under the auspices of United States President Donald Trump.
Sihasak said that the October declaration was rushed.
“The United States wanted the declaration signed in time by the visit of President Trump,” he said.
“Sometimes we really need to sit down and thrash things out so that things that we agree will really hold, really be respected.”