Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire talks after Trump steps in, but border clashes persist
Clashes persist after Thailand and Cambodia said they would talk peace after Donald Trump threatened to halt trade agreements.
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Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders will meet in Malaysia for peace talks on Monday local time, the Thai government said, as the countries clashed for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute.
At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as the countries, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples.
Bangkok announced that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks mediated by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the ASEAN regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members.
Cambodia has not commented on the planned talks, which were due to begin at 3pm (0700 GMT).
Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders, said they had agreed to “quickly work out” a ceasefire.
Mr Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals.
“When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!” he wrote on social media.
After Mr Trump’s call, Phumtham said he had agreed in principle to enter a ceasefire and start talks.
TENS OF THOUSANDS DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES
Fresh artillery clashes erupted near two long-contested ancient temples in the frontier region between northern Cambodia and northeast Thailand which has seen the bulk of the fighting.
Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai forces began attacking areas around the temples at 4.50am Sunday, local time.
“We rushed to leave the house this morning,” said 61-year-old Thai border resident Maefah, rearranging bin bags of her family’s belongings in the back of a truck stopped at a petrol station in Surin province.
“All of my neighbours have already left. And we didn’t feel safe to stay any longer,” she said, declining to give her surname.
The regular thump of artillery rattled windows in the Cambodian town of Samraong, around 20km from the front line, AFP journalists said.
Thai army deputy spokesman Ritcha Suksuwanon said Cambodian forces began firing artillery as the two sides battled for control of strategic positions.
With the conflict inflaming nationalist sentiments, Thailand issued a warning to its own citizens to “refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action” against Cambodian migrants living in the country.
Cambodia’s Hun Manet said his country “agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces”.
But on Sunday each side blamed the other again for undermining peace efforts.
The Thai foreign ministry accused Cambodian forces of firing shells into civilian homes in Surin province.
“Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile Cambodia’s defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata denied that its forces fired first and accused Thailand of “deliberate and co-ordinated acts of aggression”.
Thai villager Sutian Phiewchan told AFP by phone, while sheltering in a bunker, “I just want this to end as soon as possible,”
The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia.
The border dispute erupted into combat on Thursday with jets, tanks and ground troops battling in the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.
Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths.
The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has also accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia’s UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” he told reporters.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said “I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue.”
AUSSIE TRAVELLERS CAUTIONED
DFAT, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to Thailand, while higher levels apply to certain border areas near Cambodia due to armed conflict and landmines.
DFAT also advises against travel to Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat provinces, and suggests reconsidering travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin, and Ubon Ratchathani provinces.
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours – both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists – over their shared 800km border.
Relations between the neighbours soured dramatically when Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row.
The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn – Thaksin’s daughter – was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army.
She was suspended from office by a court order.
Here are five questions answered about the conflict between the neighbouring nations:
WHY IS THERE A BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN THAILAND AND CAMBODIA?
Thailand and Cambodia’s 800-kilometre-long border was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indo-China between 1863 and the mid-1950s.
Thai political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak has said the mapping agreed between the French and the Kingdom of Siam – encompassing Thailand’s current territory – remains the “crux of the problem” today.
In World War II, Siam gained certain Cambodian territories but was forced to hand them back to French rule in 1946.
The 1979 overthrow of Cambodia’s communist Khmer Rouge regime blurred the boundaries further as its last members fled to the border region for refuge.
Dozens of kilometres remain contested and in 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to the 900-year-old, UNESCO-recognised Preah Vihear temple, located on the border.
Sporadic violence from 2008 to 2011 led to the deaths of at least 28 people and displacement of tens of thousands.
WHY IS THE CONFLICT HAPPENING NOW?
The latest crisis began on May 28 when a Cambodian soldier was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, with both sides claiming they had acted in self-defence.
Restrictions were put on land border crossings and peace-seeking talks stalled.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after she was accused of appeasing Phnom Penh and undermining the Thai army in a leaked phone call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Five Thai military personnel were wounded in a landmine blast at the border this week, leading Thailand to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Cambodia.
Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodian military targets on Thursday as Cambodia fired rockets and artillery, leaving at least 11 civilians dead and dozens wounded, according to the Thai public health ministry.
WILL IT GET WORSE?
Analysts have said the conflict reveals an uneasy mood in both nations. Political analyst Ou Virak has said Cambodia is “desperate to stand up to what could be perceived as bullying by a bigger neighbour”.
But he warned the “nationalist flame can easily be ignited and is very difficult to put out”.
In Thailand, analysts say the conflict is being fanned by longstanding tensions between the Shinawatra political dynasty and the Thai army, which has staged a dozen coups and remains immensely influential in periods of democratic rule.
“The border clash is likely to get worse” as the Thai army is effectively in charge of border policy, said Thitinan.
WHO IS TO BLAME?
Both sides maintain that the other attacked first.
Thailand’s government spokesman accused Cambodia of being “inhumane, brutal and war-hungry” and later accused them of a “targeted attack on civilians”.
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s foreign ministry accused Thailand of “unprovoked military aggression” and the defence ministry said Cambodian soldiers only attacked military targets.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet claimed Thailand had already backed out of one proposed truce, saying in a statement he was awaiting Bangkok’s “genuine willingness” to de-escalate.
WHAT DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD SAY?
The armed conflict drew concern from China, Malaysia, the United States and France, with diplomats urging Phnom Penh and Bangkok to resolve their differences through dialogue.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) granted Phnom Penh sovereignty over the Preah Vihear temple in 1962 and over a small patch of land surrounding it in 2013, but Thailand does not recognise its jurisdiction.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said last month that his government had filed a new complaint with the UN tribunal over four disputed areas, but Thailand has pushed to seek a solution through a nearly 30-year-old bilateral mechanism.
Hun Manet on Thursday requested the UN Security Council convene an “urgent meeting” over the cross-border fire with Thailand.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, “The least we can expect is for them to stand down and hopefully try to enter into negotiation,” said Anwar, whose country currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which includes Cambodia and Thailand.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said casualties were “deeply distressing” and called for the crisis to be “approached calmly and handled properly”.
– with AFP
Originally published as Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire talks after Trump steps in, but border clashes persist
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