Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations as deadly border clashes enter third day
International pressure is mounting on both sides to reach a ceasefire.
Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation.
Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its north-eastern border crossings with Cambodia.
Cambodian authorities reported 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing its toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, raising the deaths to 20, mostly civilians.
The regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is under growing pressure to defuse the situation between its two members.
During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the UN Security Council called for de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution.
The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief.
The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rubio says US officials are in Malaysia to help in Cambodia-Thailand talks
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said State Department officials were in Malaysia to assist peace efforts as Cambodia and Thailand were scheduled to begin talks there on Monday in hopes for a ceasefire. President Donald Trump and Rubio were engaged with their counterparts for each country and were monitoring the situation very closely, Rubio said in a statement released by the State Department late on Sunday in the U.S. and early Monday in Asia. KEY QUOTES "We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," he said. "State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts." WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia were scheduled to attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia on Monday, the Thai government said, as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas. Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Hostilities resumed on Thursday and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors in more than a decade. CONTEXT The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas. Trump said on Sunday he believed both Thailand and Cambodia wanted to settle their differences after he told the leaders of both countries that he would not conclude trade deals with them unless they ended their fighting.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Tariffs, Duterte Risks Loom as Philippines' Marcos Charts Last Years in Power
Fresh from tariff talks with President Donald Trump, Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is on Monday set to unveil plans to boost growth as he starts the second half of his single six-year term beset with economic and political risks. Marcos will use his annual speech to Congress to push welfare and infrastructure programs as he steers the Southeast Asian economy through global trade tensions. He's also likely to call for national unity after his rival, Vice President Sara Duterte, on Friday successfully thwarted efforts to disqualify her from office and the 2028 elections.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Starmer to raise Gaza ceasefire and UK steel tariffs in Trump meeting
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to raise the prospect of reviving ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and the future of tariffs on British steel as he meets Donald Trump in Scotland. The Prime Minister will travel to Ayrshire, where the US president is staying at his Turnberry golf resort, for wide-ranging discussions on trade and the Middle East as international alarm grows over starvation in Gaza. The two leaders have built a rapport on the world stage despite their differing political backgrounds, with Mr Trump praising Sir Keir for doing a 'very good job' in office ahead of their talks on Monday. But humanitarian conditions in Gaza and uncertainty over US import taxes on key British goods in America threaten to complicate their bilateral meeting. Peace talks in the Middle East came to a standstill last week after Washington and Israel recalled negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement. Since then, Israel has promised military pauses in three populated areas of Gaza to allow designated UN convoys of aid to reach desperate Palestinians. But the UK, which is joining efforts to airdrop aid into the enclave and evacuate children in need of medical assistance, has said that access to supplies must be 'urgently' widened. In his talks with Mr Trump, Sir Keir will 'welcome the President's administration working with partners in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza', Number 10 said. 'He will discuss further with him what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.' The leaders will also talk 'one-on-one about advancing implementation of the landmark Economic Prosperity Deal so that Brits and Americans can benefit from boosted trade links between their two countries', it said. The agreement signed at the G7 summit last month slashed trade barriers on goods from both countries. But tariffs for the steel industry, which is of key economic importance to the UK, were left to stand at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed. Concerns had previously been raised that the sector could face a levy of up to 50% – the US's global rate – unless a further agreement was made by July 9, when Mr Trump said he would start implementing import taxes on America's trading partners. But that deadline has been and gone without any concrete update on the status of UK steel. Downing Street said that both sides are working 'at pace' to 'go further to deliver benefits to working people on both sides of the Atlantic' and to give UK industry 'the security it needs'. The two leaders are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, which Number 10 said would include 'applying pressure' on Vladimir Putin to end the invasion, before travelling on together for a private engagement in Aberdeen. It comes after Mr Trump announced he had agreed 'the biggest deal ever made' between the US and the European Union after meeting Ursula von der Leyen for high-stakes talks at Turnberry on Sunday. After a day playing golf, the US leader met the President of the EU Commission to hammer out the broad terms of an agreement that will subject the bloc to 15% tariffs on most of its goods entering America. This is lower than a 30% levy previously threatened by the US president. The agreement will include 'zero for zero' tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals, as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars (£558 billion) over three years. Speaking to journalists on Sunday about his meeting with Sir Keir, Mr Trump said: 'We're meeting about a lot of things. We have our trade deal and it's been a great deal. 'It's good for us. It's good for them and good for us. I think the UK is very happy, they've been trying for 12 years to get it and they got it, and it's a great trade deal for both, works out very well. 'We'll be discussing that. I think we're going to be discussing a lot about Israel. 'They're very much involved in terms of wanting something to happen. 'He's doing a very good job, by the way.' Mr Trump's private trip to the UK comes ahead of a planned state visit in September.
