Thailand and Cambodia to talk peace in Malaysia after Trump's tariff threat
Cambodian premier Hun Manet will meet Thai acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to seek a resolution to the deadliest conflict in more than a decade between the Southeast Asian countries, Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said, adding that they will be joined by American and Chinese delegates.
The Cambodian prime minister confirmed his participation late Sunday night. He also said China, a close ally, will attend the meeting.
'I will lead the Cambodian delegation to attend a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur hosted by Malaysia and co-organised by the United States and with participation of China,' he said.
The conflict, which began on 24 July, has killed at least 35 people and displaced over 200,000 on both sides of the disputed border.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said American officials were in Malaysia to help secure peace. Donald Trump had earlier said he thought the leaders of both Thailand and Cambodia wanted to settle the conflict.
"We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," Mr Rubio said. "State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts.'
The talks will start at 3pm local time.
After the conflict broke out last week, Malaysia offered to facilitate talks to end the hostilities in its role as the current chair of the Asean regional bloc.
The breakthrough came after Mr Trump said that Thai and Cambodian leaders were willing to 'quickly work out a ceasefire'. The US president said on Sunday he had threatened to pull out of deals to reduce tariffs on both nations unless they agreed to stop fighting.
'I called the prime minister of each and said, 'We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle a war.' I think they want to settle," he said.
Both countries thanked Mr Trump for his efforts even as fighting continued through Sunday.
The Cambodian premier said earlier on Sunday his country had agreed to pursue an 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire'. He said Mr Trump had told him Thailand was ready to end fighting following the American president's conversation with the acting prime minister.
Mr Phumtham thanked the US president and qualified Thailand's position saying that it had agreed in principle to a ceasefire but stressed the need for 'sincere intention' from Cambodia, according to the Thai foreign ministry.
The fighting started on Thursday after a landmine explosion wounded Thai soldiers and gunshots were fired, with each side blaming the other for starting the clashes.
The 817km frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades but previous confrontations have been limited and brief.
In the latest conflict, both sides have employed rocket and artillery systems, and a Thai military spokesperson confirmed cluster munitions could be used 'when necessary' after Cambodia claimed the internationally prohibited weapons were being deployed by the neighbouring country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump envoy Witkoff heading to Israel for Gaza talks, Axios reports
WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Israel on Wednesday for talks on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations but fragile truce holds
BANGKOK, July 30 (Reuters) - A fragile truce between Cambodia and Thailand held for a second day on Wednesday, despite mutual accusations of violations, and Cambodia took military attaches and diplomats to a border checkpoint destroyed by fighting to verify the ceasefire. The visit took place hours after Thailand's military accused Cambodian forces of breaching the truce at three separate locations along the disputed frontier. The Cambodian government denied this. The two sides agreed at a meeting in Malaysia on Monday to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to halt the heaviest fighting between the two countries in over a decade. There have been no reports of any exchange of heavy artillery fire since the truce was announced, but Thai and Cambodian troops were still massed along the frontier where fighting raged for five days at multiple locations. At least 43 people, many of them civilians, were killed and more than 300,000 people were displaced. At the checkpoint in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, which was now a pile of concrete, bricks and metal, Cambodian military officials told foreign observers on Wednesday that Thailand had illegally captured 20 Cambodian soldiers, according to a government statement. "One of our soldiers managed to flee," said Major General Chan Sopheaktra, according to the statement. "We suspect two others may have died, but the rest are still being held by the Thai military, with no signs of release as of this afternoon." Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Thailand's military was currently holding 18 Cambodian soldiers who it said surrendered in Sisaket province. They had been provided clothes, food, water and medical care, he said. "They are expected to be sent back to Cambodia after a permanent ceasefire is reached," he said, adding the bodies of two deceased Cambodian soldiers had been returned on Tuesday. Referring to Cambodia taking defence attaches to the border, Thailand's vice foreign minister, Russ Jalichandra, said Bangkok would soon do the same, when it was safe to proceed. "Cambodia was able to act more quickly than Thailand because they were the party that initiated the attacks, which gave them immediate command and control over the area," he said The Thai army accused Cambodian forces of violating the truce overnight, including with small arms, grenade launchers and mortar fire, spread over several hours at multiple locations. Cambodia called Thailand's allegations baseless. "Cambodia strongly rejects the ceasefire accusations as false, misleading and harmful to the fragile trust-building process," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chum Sounry said, adding the government supports a monitoring mechanism and independent observation. The ceasefire, which also agreed to halt troop movement, paves the way for a high-level military meeting that includes defence ministers on August 4 in Cambodia. Thailand and Cambodia have argued for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border and there have been occasional skirmishes, with ownership of several ancient temples central to the disputes. In May, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief gun battle, which led to a troop buildup and a diplomatic crisis. The full-blown fighting erupted last week following Thai accusations that Cambodia had laid new landlines in the area that had maimed Thai soldiers. Phnom Penh rejects this.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
China promises to help companies slammed by tariffs, as talks with the US left in limbo
China's top leaders have pledged to help companies slammed by higher U.S. tariffs but held back on major moves after trade talks with the U.S. this week kept businesses and planners in limbo. At their summer economic planning meeting, the powerful Politburo of the ruling Communist Party pledged to stabilize foreign trade and investment. 'We must assist foreign trade enterprises that have been severely impacted, strengthen financing support, and promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade,' the official Xinhua News Agency said in reporting the closed door meeting. It mentioned export tax rebates and free trade pilot zones but gave no other specifics. The inconclusive outcome of two days of trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden, leaves open the question of higher tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said the two sides had agreed to work on extending a deadline for higher tariffs. The U.S. side said the extension was discussed, but not decided. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after the talks that President Donald Trump would decide whether to extend the Aug. 12 deadline for reaching an agreement or to let tariffs that have been paused for 90 days to 'boomerang' back to a higher level. 'We haven't given the sign-off,' Bessent said, though he emphasized that the talks had been 'very constructive.' China remains one of the biggest challenges for the Trump administration after it has struck deals over elevated tariff rates with other key trading partners — including Britain, Japan and the European Union. Many analysts had expected that the Stockholm talks would result in an extension of current tariff levels, which currently stand at a U.S. tariff of 30% on Chinese goods and a Chinese tariff of 10% on U.S. products, far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates raised in April. The truce in the tariffs war to allow time for talks, agreed on in early May to allow time for negotiations, allowed exporters and other traders to ramp up shipments in hopes of beating any higher tariffs that might follow. The meeting headed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping mostly reiterated Beijing's priorities for the year, including a need to 'unleash domestic demand' which has lagged, leading to a surge of exports by industries unable to find growth at home. It also stressed the need to promote jobs and prevent a 'large scale relapse into poverty.' The economy 'has demonstrated strong vitality and resilience,' the Xinhua report said. But it acknowledged many risks and challenges. That includes reining in brutal competition that has led to damaging price wars among automakers and some other manufacturers and managing excess capacity in some industries, it said. China's economy expanded at a 5.2% annual pace in April-July, slowing slightly from the previous quarter. But analysts have said actual growth may have been significantly slower. Even with the hiatus in higher tariffs, companies are feeling a pinch. Industrial profits in China fell 1.8% in the first half of the year and 4.3% in June, according to data released earlier this week. It's unclear what level of tariffs might eventually be imposed on Chinese exports to the United States. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Thursday that Beijing hopes the U.S. side would follow through on the 'important consensus' reached between Trump and Xi in a phone call to promote stable relations between the world's two largest economies. But Guo reiterated China's stance on its U.S. objections to its purchases of oil and gas from Russia, which Bessent raised during the talks in Stockholm, threatening more tariffs. 'China will take reasonable measures to ensure energy security in accordance with its national interests,' Guo said. 'There are no winners in a tariff war. Coercion and pressure will not solve the problem. China will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.'
