Thailand leader and Cambodia meet in Malaysia on Monday to discuss a ceasefire
The Thai government has reported that the Leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia on Monday, to hold talks to end hostilities.
According to the “French Press Agency”, Geraio Hwanjab, a spokesman for the Office of the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, said that the Acting Prime Minister Fozemam Whishayati will attend the talks on Monday, in response to the invitation of Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss peace efforts in the region.
The spokesman added that his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manit, will also attend the talks, although the Cambodian side did not confirm this immediately.
Cambodia and Thailand continued to exchange artillery attacks across the disputed border areas, early Sunday morning, hours after US President Donald Trump said that the two countries’ leaders agreed to work on the ceasefire.
The “most violent” clash
The two countries in Southeast Asia are fighting the violent clash between them in the context of a land dispute that has been going on for nearly 15 years. The exchange of fire, bombing and air strikes resulted in the death of at least 34 people, and also caused the displacement of about 200,000 people.
The ongoing clashes killed 21 people on the Thai side, including eight soldiers, while Cambodia reported that 13 people, including five soldiers.
The two sides with whom the American president had continued that they wanted to start talks, but the fighting resumed early Sunday morning, in light of the exchange of accusations in this regard. The tensions initially erupted between the two countries on Thursday morning, due to the long disputed temples for a long time, before the battles spread along the rural borders, which are characterized by wild forests and agricultural lands where the locals grow rubber and rice. And Sunday, the spokeswoman for the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, Miley Sushiata, said that Thailand attacked two disputed temples in the northwest of the country. She added in a statement that Bangkok committed “hostile and coordinated acts”, which were condemned by “false lies and excuses” that the Thai army used to justify the “illegal invasion.”
For its part, the Thai Foreign Ministry indicated that the Cambodian army launched “heavy artillery fire”, targeting “civilians’ homes” in the province of Surin. She emphasized that “any stop of combat actions is impossible as long as Cambodia shows a flagrant lack of good faith, and continues frequently in violating the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law.” Also, the Thai army accused Cambodia of using “long -term weapons.” In recent days, clashes erupted in the coastal areas of the two countries on the Gulf of Thailand, about 250 km southwest of the main confrontation lines.
American mediation
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday, He spoke with the Cambodian leader Hun Manit and the Acting Thai Prime Minister, FMTAMTAM, adding that the two sides agreed on the meeting and “quickly reaching” a ceasefire. Trump welcomed “two very good conversations”, and a publication on his social platform “Truth Soshal” expressed his hope that “the two -year -olds will agree for many years next.”
In turn, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Sunday, with his counterparts in Cambodia and Thailand, urged them to calm the tension immediately, and informed them that the United States was ready to help the talks. The US State Department said in two statements on the two calls with Thai Foreign Secretary Maris Sanjiabongsa and the Cambodian Foreign Minister Barak Sukoon, that “the United States is ready to facilitate future discussions to ensure peace and stability between Thailand and Cambodia.”
Bangkok announced, on Saturday, that in principle it is consistent with entering a ceasefire with Cambodia. The Thai Foreign Ministry confirmed that a telephone connection between Trump and Witchiashai has been obtained, adding to the X platform: “However, Thailand would like to see a sincere intention from the Cambodian side.” Prime Minister Hun Manit issued instructions to his foreign minister, Brak Sukoon, to coordinate with his American counterpart Marco Rubio in order to “end” the conflict.
Thailand and Cambodia are holding talks with the White House on the exorbitant customs duties that the United States will impose from August 1, which will affect the two economies that depend on export. US President Donald Trump said it was “inappropriate” to return to the negotiating table on the trade issue before the fighting was “stopped”. Also, the United Nations urged the two countries, on Saturday, to “immediately” reach a ceasefire.
Boundary
Diplomatic relations between the two neighbors that have rich cultural and economic relations have reached its lowest levels in decades. The two countries differ from the demarcation of their common borders that were scheduled during the Chinese -French Indo -period. Before the current fighting, the most violent clashes related to this conflict were those that took place around the “Brian Phayar” temple between 2008 and 2011, and resulted in the death of at least 28 people and the displacement of tens of thousands. The United Nations Court issued a ruling in favor of Cambodia twice, in 1962 and 2013, over the ownership of the “Brian Phayar” temple included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage and the surrounding area.
