Thai defence minister to join Cambodia truce talks
Thailand’s defence minister will attend renewed truce talks with Cambodia this weekend, raising cautious hopes for an end to weeks of deadly border clashes, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday.
The talks, scheduled for Saturday, come as fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbours enters its third consecutive week, despite earlier ceasefire efforts. If an agreement is reached, it would follow the framework of a previous pact brokered with U.S. involvement after clashes in July, Anutin said, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“What is important is that both sides keep their promises — not to threaten, offend or provoke — and to reduce hostility between the two countries,” Anutin told reporters in Bangkok.
Officials from Thailand and Cambodia have been holding face-to-face discussions at a border crossing since Wednesday, even as hostilities have continued. A ceasefire that collapsed in early December has so far resulted in at least 98 deaths on both sides and displaced more than half a million people, according to officials.
Cambodia’s defence ministry did not immediately comment on the planned talks.
Efforts to stop the fighting have so far fallen short. ASEAN chair Malaysia, led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, has been unable to restore calm, while U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously helped broker a truce, has also failed to halt the violence. China has stepped in diplomatically, urging both sides to de-escalate, with Beijing’s special envoy for Asian affairs holding talks in Bangkok and Phnom Penh in recent days.
“I hope this will be the last time such an agreement is needed, so peace can return and people can go back to their homes,” Anutin said.
Thailand and Cambodia have repeatedly accused each other of actions that undermined the July ceasefire, which was later expanded in October in an attempt to stabilize the situation. The two countries have long disputed sections of their 817-kilometre shared border, and the latest clashes have spread from inland forested areas near Laos to coastal provinces.
Why it matters: Any breakthrough in the upcoming talks could mark the most significant step toward ending one of the region’s deadliest border flare-ups in years — and ease pressure on ASEAN, the U.S., and China to deliver a lasting solution.
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