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Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Anwar hails Asean diplomacy as Cambodia, Thailand agree to ceasefire after Malaysia meet
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today held up the Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire agreement as 'concrete evidence of Asean's diplomatic strength' founded on consensus-building, negotiations, and humanitarian principles. In remarks following the agreement reached yesterday in Putrajaya, Anwar also said the two countries' collective endorsement underscores a shared commitment to stability in Southeast Asia. The prime minister said Malaysia — currently the Asean chair — not only led, but also played a key role as facilitator, host, and witness to the success of this historic understanding. 'I extend my appreciation to regional partners and major powers who also supported this peace effort,' he said. 'Asean remains united and principled. Let us continue to pray for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region for our shared future.' Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate ceasefire effective from midnight on July 28, ending a deadly border dispute that has claimed dozens of lives over five days of clashes. A meeting between military commanders from both nations is scheduled to take place on Tuesday as a vital first step toward de-escalation and restoration of peace. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet thanked Anwar for hosting the negotiations that led to the 'brilliant result' of the ceasefire, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also applauded the Malaysian leader for driving the peace talks.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Thai and Cambodia border calm ahead of military commanders meeting
BANGKOK, July 29 (Reuters) - The Thailand-Cambodia border, where fighting has raged since last week, is now calm following a ceasefire deal and military commanders from both sides are set to meet for talks on Tuesday, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said. Phumtham and his Cambodian counterpart, 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 displaced over 300,000 people and killed at least 38 people, mostly civilians. The Thai army said in a statement 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, which are scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. local time (0300 GMT). "There is no escalation," Phumtham told reporters. "Right now things are calm." Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Defence Ministry, said in a briefing on Tuesday that there had been no continued fighting along the border. Monday's peace talks came after a sustained push by Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and U.S. 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% on their goods in the U.S., 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. 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.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Thai, Cambodian militaries meet to finesse ceasefire amid claims of truce violations
The militaries of Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to start negotiations at 10am local time even as small clashes erupted along the border after both sides agreed to a ceasefire at midnight on Monday. Advertisement Confirming the start of the military negotiations, Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday that the border was calm now, according to Reuters. 'There is no escalation,' Phumtham told reporters. 'Right now things are calm.' 'The frontline has eased after a ceasefire took effect from Monday midnight in accordance with the spirit of the agreement between Cambodia and Thailand at a special meeting in Malaysia,' Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a post on his official social media platforms on Tuesday. 'A sooner cessation of hostilities will also allow affected people, such as evacuees, to return to their homes and resume normal livelihoods sooner. This ceasefire and peace agreement is yielding positive and effective results.' In the hours between midnight and the military meeting, Thailand's army had accused Cambodia of violating the truce, saying clashes were continuing along the 800km (500-mile) border. Evacuees inside a gym-turned refuge in Buriram, Thailand, on Monday. Photo: Xinhua 'At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory,' Thai army spokesman Winthai Suwaree told Agence France-Presse.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Anwar hails Asean diplomacy as Cambodia, Thailand agree ceasefire after Malaysia meet
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today held up the Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire agreement as 'concrete evidence of Asean's diplomatic strength' founded on consensus-building, negotiations, and humanitarian principles. In remarks following the agreement reached yesterday in Putrajaya, Anwar also said the two countries' collective endorsement underscores a shared commitment to stability in Southeast Asia. The prime minister said Malaysia — currently the Asean chair — not only led, but also played a key role as facilitator, host, and witness to the success of this historic understanding. 'I extend my appreciation to regional partners and major powers who also supported this peace effort,' he said. 'Asean remains united and principled. Let us continue to pray for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region for our shared future.' Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate ceasefire effective from midnight on July 28, ending a deadly border dispute that has claimed dozens of lives over five days of clashes. A meeting between military commanders from both nations is scheduled to take place on Tuesday as a vital first step toward de-escalation and restoration of peace. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet thanked Anwar for hosting the negotiations that led to the 'brilliant result' of the ceasefire, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also applauded the Malaysian leader for driving the peace talks.
Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Thailand and Cambodia agree to border dispute ceasefire
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire to end the border clashes that have killed at least 35 people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Following talks in Malaysia between the two southeast Asian neighbours the ceasefire will come into effect from midnight on Monday (4pm UK time), a statement by the Malaysian prime minister said. President Trump said on Monday that he had instructed his trade team to resume negotiations with Thailand and Cambodia after the two nations agreed to the ceasefire. 'Just spoke to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand and Prime Minister of Cambodia,' Trump said in a Truth Social post. 'I have instructed my trade team to restart negotiations on trade.' Trump had earlier intervened in the dispute, suggesting to the leaders of both countries that continued hostilities would harm their chances of getting a trade deal with the US. • How a broken friendship lies behind the Thailand-Cambodia conflict Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, had earlier met to discuss the violence, which started on Thursday in a skirmish around a contested temple before spreading to several parts of the 500-mile shared border. Hun Manet and Phuntam hailed the outcome of the meeting and shook hands at the conclusion of a brief press conference. The Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who chaired the talks as head of the ASEAN regional bloc, said both sides agreed to 'an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from … midnight of 28 July.' He said it was 'a vital first step', adding that both leaders have 'expressed their positions and willingness to … an immediate ceasefire, a return to de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.' Both Putham and Hun thanked Trump for supporting the talks. Hun added: 'The solutions that prime minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship.' • Thailand and Cambodia on the brink: 'I panicked, then the bomb hit' Exchanges of artillery, small arms fire and airstrikes across the border have prompted the evacuation of 260,000 people on both sides. The agreement came hours after a gunman killed five people in a food market in Bangkok, an attack that police are investigating as possibly linked to the border clashes with Cambodia. The suspected lone shooter killed four security guards and a market vendor before turning his gun on himself, Thai media reported. The perpetrator was identified as Noi Praidan, 61, a Thai national from the Nakhon Ratchasima region northeast of the capital. The shooting took place at Or Tor Kor market in Bangkok, close to the Chatuchak market, a popular tourist destination. 'Police are investigating the motive. So far it's a mass shooting,' said Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkok's Bang Sue district, adding that police were also looking into 'any possible link' to the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand. Witnesses said that the suspect entered the market and as well as the guards, shot a woman selling dried seafood at point-blank range, killing her instantly. After the attack, the suspect sat down on a bench in the middle of the market and shot himself. Images of the man's body showed him slumped on the bench. Praidan had previously worked as a security guard at the same company as the guards he killed, according to local media. A gun licence was found in the shooter's pocket. Local media reported that food supplies were being collected in the market for people who live near the border. Monday's shooting is the fourth mass gun attack in Thailand in the last five years. In 2020, a soldier in the Royal Thai Army shot and killed 29 people and injured 58 more in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima before being killed by police. In October 2022 a former Thai police officer used a gun and a knife to kill 36 people, including 24 children, at a nursery in the town of Nong Bua Lamphu in northern Thailand. The gunman killed himself following the massacre. In October 2023, a teenager shot dead three people at Bangkok's Siam Paragon shopping mall. Authorities said the then 14-year-old had a history of mental illness. Thailand has more than 10.3 million firearms, with civilian ownership standing at 15.1 weapons per 100 people — the highest ratio in southeast Asia.
