Asean to monitor Thai-Cambodian ceasefire
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Thai Deputy Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters
Cambodia and Thailand's top defence officials agreed on Thursday to allow observers from the Asean regional bloc to inspect disputed border areas and help ensure hostilities do not resume following a violent five-day conflict that ended in a ceasefire late in July.
The Southeast Asian neighbours saw the worst fighting in over a decade in July, including exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter bombing runs that claimed at least 43 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border.
Fighting continued despite diplomatic interventions from China and Malaysia, chair of the regional bloc Asean, both calling for restraint.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's acting defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit met at Malaysia's Armed Forces headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to thrash out the terms of a permanent cessation of hostilities.
"There will be an observation team of Asean military attaches based in Thailand and Cambodia, led by Malaysia," Nattaphon said after the meeting, adding that foreign inspectors based in either country would not cross the border.
"Thailand and Cambodia are neighbours with a shared border that can move away from each other ... a resolution will allow our people to return to peaceful lives," he said.
Thailand and Cambodia said in a joint statement that they would hold more talks in two weeks and then again in a month.
The peace conditions were formulated during three days of talks between senior officials in Kuala Lumpur and finalised on the fourth day in the presence of observers from China and the United States.
"Both sides agreed on the terms of implementation of the ceasefire and improving communication between the two armies," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on social media.
Thailand and Cambodia have quarrelled for decades over undemarcated parts of their 817-kilometre land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when the latter was its colony. (Reuters)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
7 hours ago
- RTHK
Germany's Merz faces discord after busy first 100 days
Germany's Merz faces discord after busy first 100 days Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a tough balancing act to repair the cracks in his coalition government. File photo: Reuters German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has driven sweeping changes in security, economic and migration policy during his first 100 days in office, but faces widening cracks in his uneasy coalition. "Germany is back," Merz said, vowing to revive the economy, the military and Berlin's international standing after what he labelled three lacklustre years under his centre-left predecessor Olaf Scholz. He vowed to build "Europe's largest conventional army" in the face of a hostile Russia and keep up strong support for Ukraine in lockstep with Paris and London. And he has pressed a crackdown on irregular migration, a sharp departure from the centrist course of his long-time party rival Angela Merkel. But his personal approval rating slipped 10 points to just 32 percent in the latest poll by public broadcaster ARD. The biggest coalition crisis came last month over the nomination of three new judges to Germany's highest court, in which a campaign against one of the nominees eventually led to Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) withdrawing support and postponing the vote. The next sign of trouble was when the CDU's Bavarian sister party demanded sharp cuts to social benefits for Ukrainian refugees, a position its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, opposes. Both coalition partners know that open squabbling will turn off voters after discord brought down Scholz's three-party coalition, and play into the hands of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party. (AFP)
RTHK
15 hours ago
- RTHK
UK arrests hundreds backing banned pro-Palestine group
UK arrests hundreds backing banned pro-Palestine group Police in London arrested hundreds for supporting Palestine Action, at the latest protest backing the group since it was banned last month under anti-terror laws. Photo: AFP London's Metropolitan Police arrested more than 365 people at a protest against Britain's decision to ban the group Palestine Action, the force said. Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves and waving Palestinian flags, chanted "hands off Gaza", and held placards with the message "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action", video taken by Reuters at the scene showed. Israel denies allegations of being responsible for genocide in Gaza. The Reuters video showed demonstrators who had gathered in Parliament Square by the Houses of Parliament being carried away by police. The crowd chanted "shame on you" at the police. In a post on X, the police force said it had arrested 365 people for supporting a proscribed organisation. It also arrested seven people for other offences including five for assaults on officers, adding none was seriously injured. In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain's support for Israel. The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban. (Reuters)
RTHK
a day ago
- RTHK
Seoul sees signs of North reciprocity on loudspeakers
Seoul sees signs of North reciprocity on loudspeakers A South Korean soldier dismantles a loudspeaker system near the demiltarized zone in Paju in June. File photo: Reuters North Korean troops have started removing propaganda loudspeakers used to blare unsettling noises along the border, South Korea's military said on Saturday, days after Seoul's new administration dismantled ones on its side of the frontier. The two countries had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarised zone, Seoul's military said in June after the election of President Lee Jae Myung, who is seeking to ease tensions with Pyongyang. South Korea's defence ministry said on Monday it had begun removing loudspeakers from its side of the border as "a practical measure aimed at helping ease tensions with the North". South Korea had been blaring K-pop and news reports to the North in response to Pyongyang transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean locals. But under Lee's administration, in June, Seoul halted the loudspeaker broadcasts and in turn, a day later, North Korea stopped their broadcasts as well. "The South Korean military has detected North Korean troops dismantling propaganda loudspeakers in some parts along the front line from this morning," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday. "It remains to be confirmed whether the devices have been removed across all regions, and the military will continue to monitor related activities," they added. Seoul had begun the loudspeaker broadcasts last year in response to a barrage of trash-filled balloons flown south by Pyongyang. The North had sent thousands of the balloons southwards at that time, saying they were retaliation for propaganda balloons launched by South Korean activists. Relations between the two Koreas had been at one of their lowest points in years, under the South's then-president Yoon Suk-yeol, with Seoul taking a hard line towards Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lee has taken a different approach in dealing with the North since his June election, including requesting civic groups to stop sending anti-North propaganda leaflets. Lee has also said he would seek talks with the North without preconditions, following a deep freeze under his predecessor. The two countries technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. (AFP)
