South East Asia’s top diplomats met on Monday 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.
They were seeking to revive a ceasefire that was brokered in July by Malaysia as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and US President Donald Trump in July.
This was the first meeting between officials of Thailand and Cambodia since fighting resumed on 8 December. Both countries have blamed each other for the fresh hostilities.
The conflict dates back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.
Speaking after the meeting, Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said a meeting between military officials from both Thailand and Cambodia would take place on 24 December, and that this would need to happen before any ceasefire agreement could be reached.
The most recent fighting has seen the exchange of artillery fire along the 800km (500-mile) border. Thailand has also launched air strikes targetting Cambodian positions.
The conflict has been the worst between Asean member states since the association was founded in 1967. The failure to contain it represents a serious blow to the bloc’s credibility.
In his opening remarks on Monday, Malaysia’s foreign minister had asked both sides and other Asean members to give the matter “our most urgent attention”.
“We must consider the wider ramifications of the continued escalation of the situation for the people we serve,” Mohamad Hasan told his counterparts, according to news agency AFP.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who presided over the signing of the July ceasefire alongside Trump, had earlier said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Monday’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“Our duty is to present the facts, but more importantly, to press upon them that it is imperative for them to secure peace,” he said last week.
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.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had a phone call with his Thai counterpart on Thursday, said that he hoped a new ceasefire could be reached by Monday or Tuesday.
China’s special envoy for Asian affairs, Deng Xijun, visited Phnom Penh last week. A statement from Beijing said he reaffirmed that China would continue to play a constructive role in facilitating dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at the daily press briefing that China had been mediating the confict in its own way since fighting restarted this month. He added that Beijing would release information on the mediation conducted by Deng “in due course”.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Head and Thanyarat Doksone
