ASEAN ministers meet to address Thailand-Cambodia conflict
Southeast Asian foreign ministers convened on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a special meeting to address the ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, which escalated into deadly fighting two weeks ago.
This gathering marks the second time this year that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has served as a platform to promote de-escalation between the two member states, News.Az reports, citing AP.
The recent clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered in July, which had ended five days of combat.
That agreement was facilitated by Malaysia and supported under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia reached a deal. The ceasefire was further formalized at an October regional summit in Malaysia attended by Trump.
The renewed fighting has raised international concern. On Sunday, the U.S. Department of State urged Thailand and Cambodia to “end hostilities, withdraw heavy weapons, cease emplacement of landmines, and fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, which include mechanisms to accelerate humanitarian demining and address border issues.”
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on social media Sunday that he spoke with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed “Thailand’s strong intention to work toward a ceasefire and outlined our clear path forward.”
Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn plans to attend the meeting, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday, reaffirming its position of “resolving differences and disputes through all peaceful means, dialogue and diplomacy.”
The fighting is a result of a dispute over patches of territory claimed by both nations along their shared border.
The latest round of fighting began Dec. 8, a day after a border skirmish wounded two Thai soldiers. Since then combat has broken out on several fronts, with Thailand carrying out airstrikes in Cambodia with F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets from truck-mounted launchers that can launch up to 40 rockets simultaneously.
More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in the past week of fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced, according to officials.
Under the October truce Thailand was to to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held prisoner and both sides were to begin removing heavy weapons and land mines along the border. But the two countries have carried on a bitter propaganda war with minor cross-border violence.
Land mine explosions have been a particularly sensitive issue for Thailand, which has lodged several protests after alleging Cambodia laid new mines that wounded soldiers patrolling the frontier. Cambodia insists the mines were remnants of its decades-long civil war, which ended in 1999.
The Thai navy said Sunday one of its marines on the front line sustained serious injuries to his right leg from stepping on a land mine.
The navy also claimed to have discovered a large number of abandoned weapons and explosive ordnance while securing an area described as a Cambodian stronghold, which showed “deliberate planning and intentional use of anti-personnel landmines” against Thai troops.
The Thai Foreign Ministry said it would send letters of protest to Cambodia and Zambia, the current chair of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, to pursue further action under the convention’s mechanisms.
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