Thailand-Cambodia border calm as military talks postponed

CNA

7 days ago

BANGKOK: The Thailand-Cambodia border, where fighting has raged since last week, was calm on Tuesday (Jul 29) following a ceasefire deal and military commanders from both sides are set to meet for talks later in the day, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said.
Phumtham and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet met in Malaysia on Monday and agreed to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade following five days of intense fighting that killed at least 38 people, mostly civilians, and displaced over 300,000.
The Thai army said in a statement that there had been attacks by Cambodian troops in at least five locations early on Tuesday, violating the ceasefire that had come into effect from midnight, and Thailand's military had retaliated proportionately.
Phumtham played down the clashes, and said he had spoken with Cambodia's defence minister ahead of the talks between military commanders.
"There is no escalation," Phumtham told reporters. "Right now things are calm."
Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata earlier said there had been "no armed clashes against each other in any regions".
Thai military officials in two areas, Trat and Chanthaburi, had met with their Cambodian counterparts, but commanders along the stretch of the frontier that has seen the heaviest fighting during the conflict were yet to hold talks.
Thailand's Army Region 2, which covers the Isaan region, is still setting up a date.
The parley had been scheduled for 10am local time (11am Singapore time), but it was postponed and no new time had yet been set, Thai army spokesman Major General Winthai Suvaree said in a statement.
Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsap separately told reporters that the Thai and Cambodian militaries still have to agree on where to meet for talks.
Thailand will also notify the US and China, who took part in ceasefire negotiations on Monday, on violations by Cambodia since the ceasefire came into effect at midnight, he said.
Vehicular traffic and daily activity resumed in the Kantharalak district of Thailand's Sisaket province on Tuesday, about 30km from the frontlines, where Thai and Cambodian troops remain amassed.
Cars and motorbikes returned to the streets, which had been largely empty since the border clashes began on Thursday, with military vehicles among civilian traffic.
Chaiya Phumjaroen, 51, said he returned to town to reopen his shop early on Tuesday, after hearing of the ceasefire deal on the news.
"I am very happy that a ceasefire happened," he said. "If they continue to fight, we have no opportunity to make money."
TALKS AND TRADE
The Southeast Asian neighbours have wrangled for decades over their disputed frontier and have been on a conflict footing since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish late in May, which led to a troop buildup on both sides and a full-blown diplomatic crisis.
Monday's peace talks came after a sustained push by Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump, with the latter warning Thai and Cambodian leaders that trade negotiations would not progress if fighting continued.
Thailand and Cambodia face a tariff of 36 per cent on their goods in the US, their biggest export market, unless a reduction can be negotiated. After the ceasefire deal was reached, Trump said he had spoken to both leaders and had instructed his trade team to restart tariff talks.
Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand's finance minister, said on Tuesday that trade talks with Washington are expected to be concluded before Aug 1, and that US tariffs on the country are not expected to be as high as 36 per cent.