Thailand And Cambodia Agree To Extend Peace Pact
At least 43 people were killed in the conflict that ended on Tuesday last week after a long-standing dispute over border temples erupted into violence.
A truce was brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim -- chair of the ASEAN regional bloc -- after cajoling by US President Donald Trump and a team of Chinese mediators.
The deal dictated a ceasefire, followed by a meeting of rival regional commanders, before defence officials held three days of talks in Kuala Lumpur that concluded with a joint statement on Thursday.
"Both sides agree to a ceasefire involving all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians and civilian objects and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas," it said.
"This agreement must not be violated under any circumstances."
In the first days of the truce, both Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of breaching the deal with limited skirmishes along their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) border, though clashes quickly dropped off.
The joint statement signed by Thai Deputy Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha said they had agreed to continue a freeze on border troop movements and patrols.
"We are here for a detailed ceasefire arrangement to stop bloodshed and the suffering by soldiers and civilians of both sides," Tea Seiha told reporters at a news conference.
"The steps are life-saving measures and lay groundwork for restoring confidence, trust, and normalcy between our two countries."
The statement scheduled another meeting within a month and said both sides would also "agree to refrain from disseminating false information or fake news in order to de-escalate tensions".
"In order for our discussions today to result in concrete outcomes, both sides needed to show cooperation and sincerity," Natthaphon told reporters.
The contested temples are claimed by both nations because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.
Last month's clashes were the deadliest in the region in more than a decade and forced more than 300,000 people to flee combat areas on both sides of the border.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Germany
an hour ago
- Local Germany
European leaders urge more 'pressure' on Russia ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations. Announcing the summit last week, Trump said that "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" sides, without elaborating. But President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia to buy peace. "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," he said on social media. "Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace," he added. Zelensky urged Ukraine's allies to take "clear steps" towards achieving a sustainable peace during a call with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European leaders issued a joint statement overnight Saturday to Sunday saying that "only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed". They welcomed Trump's efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically -- by maintaining support to Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia. "The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations", said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details. Advertisement They also said a resolution "must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests", including "the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity". "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," they said. National security advisors from Kyiv's allies -- including the United States, EU nations and the UK -- gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit. French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said "the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians" and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations. In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: "There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started." A 'dignified peace' Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes. Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage. Ukraine's leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace. The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Zelensky said of the location that it was "very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people". The Kremlin said the choice was "logical" because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their "economic interests intersect". Advertisement Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could. Fighting goes on Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other's positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine's frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16. The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson -- despite not having full control over them. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.
DW
16 hours ago
- DW
Three Thai soldiers injured by landmine on Cambodian border – DW – 08/09/2025
The incident occured only days after an agreement to extend a ceasefire that ended the recent deadly conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbors. Three Thai soldiers have been wounded after one stepped on a landmine in territory along the border with Cambodia, the Thai army announced on Saturday. The incident comes just days after the two countries agreed to extend the ceasefire that ended a brief armed conflict, which were their deadliest clashes in decades. One soldier suffered a severe leg injury, another was wounded in the back and arm, and the third experienced extreme pressure damage to the ear during the incident in northeastern Thailand's Sisaket province. "It clearly demonstrates to both domestic and international society that the use of concealed weapons in border areas continues to exist, constituting a clear violation of the Ottawa Convention by the Cambodian side," the army's statement said. After Saturday's blast, the Thai army statement, citing its spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree, said that Saturday's mine explosion constituted "a significant obstacle to the implementation of ceasefire measures and peaceful resolution of problems." The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, a government body, issued a statement denying that any new mines had been laid. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "We have not, and will not, plant new land mines," said the statement, noting that Cambodia is a party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty Convention, "and has an internationally recognized record of removing, not deploying, these indiscriminate weapons." It noted that Cambodia has cleared more than 1 million mines and nearly 3 million other pieces of unexploded ordnance left over from more than three decades of war and civil unrest that began in 1970. A five-day conflict between Thailand and Cambodia killed at least 43 people in a flare-up of a long-running dispute over ancient border temples. The clashes, involving jets, artillery, rockets and infantry battles, ended on July 29 with a ceasefire, after cajoling by US President Donald Trump. A meeting of defense officials in Kuala Lumpur finished on Thursday with a deal to extend the ceasefire. Tensions had simmered since May this year when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead by Thai troops in a brief fracas in another contested border area. The escalating dispute was marked by border crossing restrictions and cross-border boycotts along with bans of goods and services before fighting broke out. The Ottawa Convention, also called the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, is an international agreement banning the weapons' use, and both Thailand and Cambodia have committed to it. A statement from Thailand's foreign ministry said the incident confirmed the Thai army's findings "that new land mines are being laid in blatant violation of international law." It also noted this was the third such incident in less than a month. Cambodia had suggested that two earlier explosions last month wounding Thai soldiers might be land mines from past conflicts.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Putin Taps Key Allies Ahead Of Trump Summit, Sanctions Deadline
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held consultations with the leaders of China and India, seeking support from his key allies ahead of a likely summit with Donald Trump. The calls came hours before a deadline from the US president on Moscow to halt its Ukraine offensive or face crippling new economic sanctions, expected to target Russia's key trading partners. Both Washington and Moscow have confirmed a Putin-Trump meeting is set to take place, possibly as early as next week. Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine after boasting he could end the conflict in 24 hours -- but his efforts so far have failed to yield a breakthrough. He also wants countries such as China and India to cut their purchases of Moscow's oil and gas, a key source of revenue that Kyiv and the West say funds its army. Trump earlier this week hiked tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, which have surged since February 2022 when Moscow launched its campaign. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin had updated Chinese President Xi Jinping on "the main results of his conversation" with US special envoy Steve Witkoff who visited Moscow earlier this week. Xi expressed support for a "long-term" solution to the conflict, the Kremlin said. China's Xinhua state news agency quoted Xi as having told Putin: "China is glad to see Russia and the United States maintain contact, improve their relations, and promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis." Moscow and Beijing have deepened political, economic and military ties since Russia's offensive. China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the conflict, but never denounced the offensive or called for Russia to withdraw. Putin also spoke by phone to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after both countries condemned the new US tariffs over New Delhi's oil purchases. "Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine," Modi posted on social media. Neither side elaborated on what had been discussed. Xi and Modi have both tried to tout their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though they have gained little traction. Trump's deadline for Russia to strike a peace deal or face new sanctions -- expected to target its trading partners -- was set to pass later on Friday. Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if that deadline still held despite the upcoming summit, Trump did not give a clear answer. "It's going to be up to (Putin)," Trump said. "We're going to see what he has to say." Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough and it remains unclear whether a summit would bring peace any closer. On the streets of Moscow expectations were also low. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Irina, a 57-year-old lawyer, told AFP. "To be honest, I have no hopes," she added. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire. He has also ruled out holding talks with Volodymyr Zelensky at this stage, a meeting the Ukrainian president says is necessary to make headway on a deal. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its offensive, with millions forced to flee their homes in eastern and southern Ukraine.
