Cambodia, Thailand agree to ceasefire, neutral monitors after clashes

kampuchea and siam in agreement(p) to defend a ceasefire and grant neutral monitors, as the US cited a “high level of distrust” between the Southeast Asian neighbors after their deadliest border clashes in decades.

A meeting of senior security officials from the two nations held in Kuala Lumpur approved a set of measures to strictly enforce the truce and ease border tensions, including ceasefire monitoring by an interim team of Asean defense attaches stationed in Bangkok and Phnom Penh. The teams would be led by Malaysian attaches.

The so-called General Border Committee meeting also agreed not to move or reinforce troops and weapons along their roughly 800-kilometer (500-mile) disputed border, Cambodian and Thai officials said at separate briefings on Thursday. Representatives of Malaysia, China and the US attended the border talks as observers.

The latest measures to de-escalate tensions may help hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by five days of clashes on either side of the border to return home. Even after the July 29 ceasefire, both countries have continued to station troops and weaponry along the frontier after the clashes left more than 40 dead and scores more injured.

The border talks followed the ceasefire brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his capacity as chair of regional bloc Asean, that came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who used trade tariffs as leverage. While the borders have been largely quiet, the US envoy to Malaysia said there was “high level of tension” and Washington was committed to helping the two countries avert further conflict.

The Thai-Cambodia conflict traces its roots to long-standing tensions stemming from colonial-era maps and treaties that defined their shared border. Relations had remained relatively stable since 2011 clashes that left dozens dead, before erupting into intense fighting last month.

Both the countries hailed the talks as successful with a joint statement saying “the positive momentum generated by the meeting reflects the shared determination of both the sides to work together in fostering lasting peace, stability, cooperation, and development of their mutual benefit.”

Thailand, which had previously accused Cambodia of breaching the ceasefire agreement, said Phnom Penh has shown sincerity in resolving the conflict. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Manet asked Thailand to immediately release 18 Cambodian soldiers held in its custody.

“Thailand and Cambodia are neighbors that share a common border and cannot move away from each other,” Thai Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit told reporters. “If both countries can resolve this issue swiftly, peace will return to our shared border area and our people will be able to resume their normal lives.”

The border committee is one of several bilateral mechanisms between Thailand and Cambodia to resolve disputes. The meeting hosted by Cambodia was moved to Kuala Lumpur on Bangkok’s request.

Cambodia and Thailand need to show strong commitment from the highest level down to the soldiers at the border to implement the ceasefire, US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan said. Given the tension and distrust between the two countries, the US will support Asean’s observer mechanism to ensure the ceasefire holds, Kagan told reporters in a group interview in Kuala Lumpur.

“It will be important for all parties to continue working to figure out what is the best way to get a durable and effective ceasefire,” Kagan said. “There’s enough distrust between the two sides, that there will need to be some form of outside monitoring, so that they can be confident that there will be some sort of independent assessment of what happens.”

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to convene a meeting of their regional army commanders in two weeks for follow-up discussions, said Thailand’s Nattaphon. The border committee will meet again in a month, and Thailand plans to propose joint cooperation in landmine clearance and cybercrime suppression, he added.

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