China, US seek Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire before ASEAN
China and the United States are renewing separate efforts to broker a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, days before a special meeting of Southeast Asian ministers on the border conflict; This was the worst conflict between the two countries in recent history.
Nearly 60 people have been killed and more than half a million displaced since renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors last week; This shattered a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump in late July.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on Friday to reiterate Washington’s concerns and urge Thailand to de-escalate tensions and return to the ceasefire agreement, the State Department said.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts on Thursday and both “expressed their willingness to ease tensions and establish a ceasefire.”
“The intensity of this round of conflict has far exceeded previous events, and if it continues, it will not benefit either side and will harm (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) unity,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that a special envoy visited both countries with the aim of restoring peace.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said Sihasak reaffirmed Bangkok’s stance on Rubio and “shared information on the way forward,” including attending Monday’s ASEAN meeting.
The ministry also confirmed the call with Wang.
Cambodia did not comment on Washington and Beijing’s offers.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn is also set to attend the meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. This meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between the governments since hostilities resumed on December 8.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the ASEAN chairman who helped broker July’s ceasefire, said this week he was cautiously optimistic about the meeting because the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia were keen to reach an amicable solution.
Thailand and Cambodia accuse each other of actions that led to the breakdown of a July ceasefire that was transformed in October into a broader agreement to help resolve the conflict.
The neighbors have long been in dispute over parts of their 800km land border.
Conflict now extends from the forested interior near Laos to the coastal provinces.
A Thai defense ministry spokesman said clashes continued along the border on Friday, with Cambodia firing heavy weapons in some areas and Thailand retaliating.
Tensions have risen in Thailand since the suspension of de-escalation measures in November, including the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons and the release of Cambodian prisoners of war, in response to the injury of a Thai soldier by a land mine.
Thailand, which denies the claim, says the mine is one of several mines recently installed by Cambodia.
Bangkok insists that ending the conflict must begin with the other side ending hostilities and offering a clear ceasefire, while Phnom Penh argues that it is defending itself against its neighbour’s military actions.
