Thailand and Cambodia plan border visits for diplomats as violence eases
The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect midnight Monday, but it was quickly tested as Thailand and Cambodia continued to accuse each other of violating the truce agreements.
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it is organizing a trip to the border for military attachés of foreign missions and the media on Friday to show the impact of the clashes on the ground.
Cambodia is also organizing a border visit for foreign diplomats on the same day. It held a similar trip on Wednesday attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the U.S. and China.
Thailand's government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Thursday that there had been no new clashes reported overnight Wednesday.
But tensions on other fronts continue to simmer. Officials in Thailand's border province of Surin, one of the critical locations of the conflict, on Thursday cautioned evacuees against returning home as they were surveying affected areas for any ammunition that might still pose a risk.
A spokesperson for Cambodia's Defense Ministry Maly Socheata said Thursday that Cambodia has received the body of one of its soldiers from Thailand.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the military is now in contact with its Thai counterparts to facilitate the return of about 20 other soldiers captured by Thai forces.
'I hope that the Thai Army will return all our soldiers who are currently in the custody of the Thai Army to Cambodia as soon as possible,' he said.
Thai foreign minister Maris Sagniampongsa said the Cambodian soldiers were being well taken care of and would be sent back once Thailand is confident they no longer pose a threat. He said security officials would determine when the return would be.
Hun Manet and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed Monday to an 'unconditional' halt in the fighting which has killed at least 41 people.
The fighting began last week after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
The peace talks were hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He called the ceasefire a 'vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.'
The ceasefire was brokered with U.S. pressure as President Donald Trump said he would not move forward with trade agreements if the conflict continued.
But both countries continued to blame at each other and Thailand accused Cambodia of launching new attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday after the agreement took effect.
Cambodia's Maj. Gen. Chan Sopheaktra of the Preah Vihear province said Wednesday that the Cambodian military has been strictly adhering to the ceasefire agreement and that there had been two ceasefire violations by Thai forces since the agreement took effect. He did not elaborate on the violations.
Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border.
Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
___
Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Online hate and rising vitriol: deep divisions amid shaky peace between Thailand and Cambodia
As a Cambodian living in Thailand, 31-year-old Da, has kept her children home from school this week in fear they might face abuse. 'One of my friends went to the market yesterday to buy durian and the seller told her that she hated Cambodians,' she says, of rising tensions between the neighbouring countries. Days after Thailand and Cambodia announced a ceasefire after a deadly five-day conflict, relations remain dangerously frayed, and peace tenuous. Since the truce both sides have accused each other of violating it, while online, public distrust is being fuelled by a bitter confluence of disinformation, threats and nationalism. Dowsawan Vanthong, 50, who is volunteering at a temple in Surin, northeastern Thailand, that is hosting evacuated people, worries that even if calm prevails and the disputed border eventually reopens, relations won't be the same. 'For me, I can make a distinction and separate normal Cambodians [from the government or military]… But I'm not sure if everyone could do this, especially people in the areas that were most affected,' she says. At least 43 people were killed on either side of the border in the clashes, the worst to grip the two nations in more than a decade. In normal times, residents would regularly cross the 800km border that separates the two countries, going back and forth for trade and work, school or healthcare. Before the conflict started, more than 520,000 Cambodians worked across Thailand, often in low-paid jobs in agriculture, construction, fishing and manufacturing. But the border is now almost entirely shut, though Cambodians living in Thailand can return home. Thousands have queued up to do so, worried about rising vitriol in Thailand. Da, who works as a cleaner and asked for her real name not to be published due to the tensions, says she has to stay in Thailand for economic reasons and to pay off debts, but she feels still feels uneasy about the decision. 'The kids saw on social media that a lot of Cambodians are going back home, so they wanted to as well,' she says. Social media commentaries have become increasingly incendiary and, at times, violent. In a viral TikTok clip, a Thai man appears to instruct young Cambodians to tell Hun Sen - the former Cambodian leader who remains extremely powerful – not to attack Thai people. When one of the group smiles, the man slaps him on camera. Hun Sen later shared the video on his Facebook page, warning Cambodians in Thailand to stay safe. Another video, shared widely online, apparently shows a group of Thai people beating up a man who is reportedly a Cambodian national. When two Cambodian women posted videos stamping on the Thai flag, part of a new social media trend, people demanded their deportation. Thai authorities have urged young people and social media influencers against inciting violence, but the bitterness has continued to be shared online. The South-east Asian neighbours have a long history of rivalry, especially arguments over the roots of their shared heritage. In 2003, when false rumours that a Thai soap opera actor had suggested Angkor Wat, a Unesco world heritage site, belonged to Thailand, riots erupted in Phnom Penh, and the Thai embassy set on fire. Diplomatic rows and social media storms have broken out periodically since. Two years ago, Thailand boycotted a kickboxing event at the South-East Asian Games in Cambodia after the discipline was called Kun Khmer rather than Thailand's name for the sport, Muay Thai. Even well-meaning posts can spiral into online wars. The UK ambassador to Cambodia Dominic Williams inadvertently created a social media furore in 2023 when he posted a picture of some sweet treats on social media, captioned 'Khmer dessert'. Thai people responded with a flood of angry comments claiming the snacks were in fact Thai. Social media, far more prevalent than the last time the border dispute erupted in 2008 and 2011, has inflamed tensions. Some have pushed back. A major hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province was forced to backtrack after it suspended services for new Cambodian patients and announced it would be strictly 'zoning' existing Cambodian patients due to the recent fighting. Critics pointed out the policy was discriminatory. But online others supported the hospital. 'Shall we help them get better so they can shoot at us again?' wrote one commentator. The public mood in Thailand – and pressure for Thai authorities to seek responsibility for Cambodian attacks on Thai civilians – could threaten the fragile ceasefire. Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst in Thailand, says the ceasefire will probably hold for now, but the prospects in the medium and long term are less clear. 'Thailand and Cambodia are still going to have a lot of border issues to resolve, because none of the core points of contention have actually been discussed so far,' he said. Both Thailand and Cambodia still insist on usingdifferent maps to demarcate the border. Da, who lives far from the border, in Rayong province, is mostly staying at home, going out only to buy food and work. 'In my opinion, both sides have done things wrong – they need to find a way to speak peacefully,' she says. 'I want the situation to go back to normal, to open the border gates so that Thai and Cambodian people can come together again.'
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Putin not swayed by Trump's Ukraine war ultimatum
Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced hopes for further peace talks with Ukraine - but stressed his troops were "advancing on the entire front line", despite the threat of tougher US sanctions if a ceasefire was not agreed upon."All disappointments arise from inflated expectations," Putin said, in an apparent reference to Trump's "disappointment" with the Russian leader for not bringing an end to the a day after one of the deadliest Russian air attacks on Kyiv, he repeated his demands for Ukrainian neutrality and recognition of the occupied territories, which Ukraine views as a President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin "any time". Speaking on Friday at the Valaam Monastery on an island in north-western Russia, Putin said he expected negotiations with Ukraine to continue, adding that he viewed "negotiations positively".But in a veiled reference to growing pressure from Ukraine and its Western allies to agree to a long-term ceasefire, he said: "As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations."Our enemies and ill-wishers... now have one fiery passion: to stop our advance [on the front line in Ukraine] at any cost".Ukraine and its allies have repeatedly accused Russia of stalling peace negotiations and rejecting any meaningful ceasefire, saying Moscow is trying to seize more Ukrainian rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in recent months ended without any major breakthrough. The two sides, however, agreed to swap several thousands of prisoners of shortly after Putin's comments, Zelensky questioned whether Russia was showing "serious readiness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace" or whether it was "just an attempt to buy more time for war and postpone sanctions". In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its deadly drone and missile strikes on Thursday, at least 31 people - including five children - were killed in a Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital. US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's actions, threatening new sanctions."Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," he told in July Trump announced his original 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war, Putin didn't react. When that was reduced to 10-12 days, Putin said on Friday the Kremlin leader left little doubt that he would not be swayed by a White House ultimatum. Trump may claim to be "disappointed" with Putin for not making peace - but the Russian leader is guest on the Valaam island, Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, was more direct in his dismissal of Trump's deadline."50 days, 60 days, 10 days. You don't do politics like that," Lukashenko shows that, for Trump, deadlines are not set in stone. But on paper, at least, his latest deadline expires on 8 August. If by then Russia hasn't signed up to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it will face more sanctions – so in theory will countries that buy Russian judging by what the Russian state media has been saying in recent days, many in Moscow doubt the White House will go through with its threat of tougher more, from what Putin said on Friday about Russia advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine, he clearly believes a ceasefire now is not in Moscow's best officials on Friday said Kyiv had received "positive signals" from the US about potential new sanctions.A day earlier, senior US diplomat John Kelley told the UN Security Council that Russia and Ukraine "must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace"."It is time to make a deal," he special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is currently in Israel, would visit Russia next, the US president said earlier this week. He gave no further details.
Times
8 hours ago
- Times
Expectations for peace in Ukraine are too high, says Putin
President Putin has indicated that he will not comply with President Trump's deadline to end the war in Ukraine, saying that 'all disappointments in negotiations occur due to excessive expectations'. At a meeting in Russia on Friday with President Lukashenko of Belarus, Putin gave no reason to think that Moscow's stalling over a ceasefire was about to end. Trump has threatened Russia with new sanctions if it does not agree to a truce and move towards peace in Ukraine by August 8. Putin, however, said that Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favour. He said some progress had been made in three rounds of talks with Ukraine and that the negotiations would continue, but he did not refer to Trump's deadline. 'As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations,' he said. 'This is a well known general rule but, to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations and not in public — this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.' Russia has consistently resisted a swift ceasefire, arguing that Moscow's grievances over Nato expansion and the supposed mistreatment of Russians in Ukraine must be addressed before hostilities can cease. Putin has also sidestepped requests for a meeting from President Zelensky of Ukraine. Calling again for talks, Zelensky said on Friday: 'We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too.' In July, Trump set Putin a deadline of September after several previous ultimatums had been ignored. He has now accelerated the timetable in a sign of his growing impatience with Putin. Sir Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, said after a call with Zelensky on Friday that he and Zelensky 'welcomed the president's new deadline', Downing Street said. Trump returned to the White House this year with a promise to resolve the conflict in '24 hours', and said in his inaugural address that he was determined to go down in history as a peacemaker. However, Putin has been able to turn incremental gains across the front lines into a dangerous summer offensive. Russia recently said it had captured the strategic town of Chasiv Yar, although Kyiv denied the claim. Putin announced on Friday that Russia had begun mass production of Oreshnik, its hypersonic nuclear-capable missile, which it used last year to strike Dnipro. With Ukraine apparently on the back foot, Trump has increased tariffs on India, a Kremlin ally. Announcing a 25 per cent tariff on Wednesday, Trump tied his decision to India's economic alliance with Russia. India has benefited from the war by buying discounted Russian oil, and continues to buy Russian weaponry. 'They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, warning that Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who makes anti-western jibes on social media, should 'watch his words'. • Trump brands India and Russia 'dead economies' in tariff row Trump said that recent attacks on Ukraine were 'disgusting' as Kyiv observed a day of mourning on Friday after 31 people, including five children, died from Russian drone and missile attacks. Zelensky said that in July Russia had launched more than 5,100 glide bombs, more than 3,800 Shahed drones and nearly 260 missiles of various types, 128 of them ballistic, against Ukraine. Asked about sanctions against Russia, Trump said: 'Yeah, we have about eight days. Yeah, we're going to put sanctions.' However, he seemed to question whether they would stop Russian attacks.'I don't know that sanctions bother him,' he said. 'I don't know if that has any effect, but we're going to do it.' On Friday, Zelensky said on Telegram: 'No matter how much the Kremlin denies effectiveness, they [sanctions] are working and must be stronger.'
