At Trump's urging, Thailand and Cambodia to meet for cease-fire talks
Some analysts see this dispute as a test of US and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia, where Washington and Beijing are competing for dominance. Thailand is a US treaty ally and hosts dozens of military exercises with the United States; China is the largest trading partner of Thailand and Cambodia, which hosts a naval base largely funded by Beijing. Instability in the two Southeast Asian nations could jeopardize the strategic and economic interests of the two world powers.
On Saturday, Trump said, he called Hun Manet and Phumtham, adding that they had agreed to work out a cease-fire to the conflict, which has killed at least 34 people. On Sunday, the State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken by phone with his counterparts in Thailand and Cambodia, urging them to lower tensions immediately and agree to an end of the conflict.
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But sporadic skirmishes flared between Thai and Cambodian troops along the two countries' disputed border early Sunday, underscoring the challenge of resolving an increasingly bitter and long-running conflict, one of the deadliest ever between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. Analysts said that both countries could also be seeking to grab territory before an agreement was signed.
Rubio said he had told Cambodia's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, and Thailand's foreign minister, Maris Sangiampongsa, about Trump's desire for peace. On Saturday, Trump said he would not negotiate trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand until they stopped the fighting.
On Sunday, Phumtham said he had told Trump that Thailand had agreed in principle to a cease-fire and had asked Trump to inform Cambodia that talks should take place as soon as possible. He added that he would 'like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side.'
But the deputy spokesperson of the Thai army, Colonel Richa Suksuwanont, distinguished between Trump's conversation with the Thai leader and what was happening on the ground.
'The troops in the battlefield are still following battle strategies,' he said in a statement. 'Thailand confirms that the cease-fire will happen only when Cambodia reaches out to us themselves for negotiation.'
The conflict flared after two months of tension over contested territory. In the last outbreak of deadly battles between the countries, from 2008 to 2011, 34 people were killed, according to an academic paper. This year, that death toll was reached in less than a week.
Hun Manet said he hoped Thailand would not go back on its cease-fire vow. He added that the Thais had violated a similar promise made after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim negotiated with both sides on Thursday. Malaysia is the chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Cambodia and Thailand also belong.
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Thai and Cambodian forces exchanged fire Sunday along the border, near the site of a temple, claimed by both countries, known as Prasat Ta Khwaiq to the Thais and Prasat Ta Krabey to the Cambodians. The deputy Thai army spokesperson, Richa, said the first shots were fired by Cambodia into Thai territory in several areas, including into civilian homes, early Sunday.
Lieutenant General Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Defense Ministry, said Cambodia 'categorically rejects and condemns in the strongest terms the baseless and irresponsible accusation by Thailand that Cambodia initiated hostilities.'
She said Thailand's forces started shelling Cambodian territory at 2 a.m. and expanded their operations to Prasat Ta Krabey and near another ancient temple also claimed by both countries, called Prasat Ta Moan Thom by the Cambodians and Prasat Ta Muen Thom by the Thais. The site is where violence first erupted Thursday.
At 6 a.m., Thailand sent in tanks and troops to 'invade' in multiple areas, according to Maly Socheata.
'Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand's clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,' Maly Socheata said.
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