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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Cambodia and Thailand agree to Asean observers to ensure ceasefire holds
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The peace conditions were formulated during three days of talks between senior officials in Kuala Lumpur. KUALA LUMPUR – Cambodia and Thailand's top defence officials agreed on Aug 7 to allow observers from the Asean regional bloc to inspect disputed border areas and help ensure hostilities do not resume following a violent five-day conflict that ended in a ceasefire late in July. The South-east Asian neighbours saw the worst fighting in over a decade in July , including exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter bombing runs that claimed at least 43 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border. Fighting continued despite diplomatic interventions from China and Malaysia, chair of the regional bloc Asean, both calling for restraint. The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand came to the negotiating table only when US President Donald Trump told them that tariff negotiations would not continue unless there was peace, Reuters exclusively reported. Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's acting defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit met at Malaysia's Armed Forces headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 7 to thrash out the terms of a permanent cessation of hostilities. 'There will be an observation team of Asean military attaches based in Thailand and Cambodia, led by Malaysia,' Mr Nattaphon told reporters at a press conference after the meeting, adding that foreign inspectors based in either country would not cross the border. 'Thailand and Cambodia are neighbours with a shared border that can move away from each other... a resolution will allow our people to return to peaceful lives,' he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds Singapore Wastewater overflow in Bedok and Chai Chee due to choked sewer at BTO worksite: PUB Singapore Teen's love of dance powers her through cancer to perform at NDP2025 Singapore Jail for driver who drove over leg of special needs woman in accident on church driveway Asia Kpods, zombie oil or etomidate? A new name may help Hong Kong curb its youth drug crisis Singapore Man handed three vaping-related charges including importing more than 3,000 pods Singapore Man charged over 5 e-vaporiser pods containing etomidate, including 3 for sale World Trump's 100% semiconductor tariffs may hit chipmakers in Singapore, other SEA nations Thailand and Cambodia said in a joint statement that they would hold more talks in two weeks and then again in a month. The peace conditions were formulated during three days of talks between senior officials in Kuala Lumpur and were finalised on the fourth day in the presence of observers from China and the United States. 'Both sides agreed on the terms of implementation of the ceasefire and improving communication between the two armies,' Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on social media. Thailand and Cambodia have quarrelled for decades over undemarcated parts of their 817km land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when the latter was its colony. REUTERS
Reuters
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Guns fall silent on Thai-Cambodia border as commanders seek to uphold truce
BANGKOK, July 29 (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia held on Monday and military commanders from both sides met to discuss measures to maintain the truce, as some residents along the disputed frontier trickled back home after five days of intense fighting. Thai and Cambodian leaders met in Malaysia on Monday and agreed to a ceasefire to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade, which has killed at least 43 people, many of them civilians, and displaced over 300,000 in both countries. Border areas remained calm, Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters in Bangkok, although he accused Cambodian troops of violating the ceasefire early on Tuesday, which had been flagged in complaints to Malaysia, the United States and China. Cambodia denied the charge, insisting its troops had strictly abided by the ceasefire since midnight and continued to uphold it, according to a statement by Defence Minister Tea Seiha. Despite the initial jitters, military commanders from both sides held talks and agreed to maintain the ceasefire, stop any troop movement, and facilitate the return of the wounded and dead, Thai army spokesman Major-General Winthai Suvaree said. Each side will establish a coordinating team of four to resolve any problems, Winthai told reporters. Further negotiations will continue at a meeting of the General Border Committee, which coordinates on border security, ceasefires, and troop deployments, scheduled for August 4 in Cambodia, the Thai army said. The committee includes the defence ministers and senior military commanders from both countries. In a statement, the Thai army said it had detained 18 Cambodian soldiers who surrendered and provided basic provisions to them, including food and water. A Cambodian defence ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters questions on the detentions. Both militaries have agreed not to deploy more troops along their disputed border, said Lim Menghour, Director-General of the Commission on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the National Assembly of Cambodia, who also underlined the need for international observers to monitor the ceasefire. Malaysia's Defence Chief General Mohd Nizam Jaffar led a delegation to Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday, the Malaysian army said in a statement, while a Chinese military spokesman said Beijing will maintain close communication with both countries to help consolidate the consensus over the ceasefire. Thailand and Cambodia 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. 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. Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand's finance minister, said on Tuesday that trade talks with Washington were expected to be concluded before August 1. Thailand has estimated an initial damage from the border conflict at more than 10 billion baht ($300 million), Pichai said, adding the government is preparing a budget of at least 25 billion baht to mitigate the economic impact. The government has also rolled out various relief measures to help those affected, including soft loans, loan repayment deferrals and tax breaks, he said. Daily activity resumed some parts of Thailand's border areas, including the Kantharalak district, about 30 km (20 miles) from the frontline, where Chaiya Phumjaroen, 51, returned to town to reopen his shop. "I am very happy that a ceasefire happened," he said. "If they continue to fight, we have no opportunity to make money." The ceasefire deal reflected a rare convergence of interest between the U.S. and China, which also pushed for the talks, but the agreement remained fragile, and third-party monitoring was essential to keep it in place, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "It cannot be left to Thailand and Cambodia to implement because the hostilities are running so deep now."
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First Post
26-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Thailand-Cambodia border clash: Death roll rises to 33 amid ceasefire calls
Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded read more A Thailand's mobile artillery unit fires towards Cambodia's side after Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery on Friday as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, in Surin, Thailand. Reuters Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day on Saturday, as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33 and Phnom Penh called for an 'immediate ceasefire'.A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. Cambodia's defence ministry said 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting, including eight civilians and five soldiers, with 71 people wounded. In Thailand, the army said five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 – 14 civilians and six military. The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011. Both sides reported a clash around 5:00 am (2200 GMT Friday), with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing 'five heavy artillery shells' into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand's Trat province – on the coast some 250 kilometres (160 miles) southwest of the main frontlines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, near the ridge of forest-clad hills that marks the border and has seen the bulk of the fighting, heard the thump of artillery early Saturday afternoon. A Thai villager reached by phone as he sheltered in a bunker in Sisaket province, just 10 kilometres from the frontier, also reported hearing artillery. 'I just want this to end as soon as possible,' Sutian Phiewchan told AFP. The fighting has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, with more than 35,000 driven from their homes in Cambodia. After the closed meeting of the Security Council in New York, Cambodia's UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire. 'Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,' he told reporters. - Border row - Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that for any ceasefire or talks to proceed, Cambodia needed to show 'genuine sincerity in ending the conflict'. 'I urge Cambodia to stop violating Thai sovereignty and to return to resolving the issue through bilateral dialogue,' Maris told reporters. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said Friday, before the UN meeting was held, that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members. Both sides have blamed the other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. Cambodia has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions. Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – still an influential figure in the kingdom – visited shelters on Saturday to meet evacuees. 'The military needs to complete its operations before any dialogue can take place,' Thaksin told reporters. The 76-year-old said he had no plans to contact Hun Sen, Cambodia's powerful ex-prime minister who was long a close ally. 'His actions reflect a disturbed mindset. He should reflect on his conduct,' Thaksin said of Hun Sen. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours – both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists – over their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) border. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash. Relations between the neighbours soured dramatically when Hun Sen last month released a recording of a call with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra focused on the border row. The leak triggered a political crisis in Thailand as Paetongtarn – Thaksin's daughter – was accused of not standing up for Thailand enough, and of criticising her own army. She was suspended from office by a court order.
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Thai military prepared for 'high-level operation' if Cambodia border row escalates
FILE PHOTO: A Buddhist monk visits the Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, November 12, 2013. REUTERS/Samrang Pring/File Photo BANGKOK - Thailand's military said it is ready to launch a "high-level operation" to counter any violation of its sovereignty, in the strongest words yet in a simmering border dispute with Cambodia that re-erupted with a deadly clash last week. The army said in a statement late on Thursday that its intelligence gathering indicated Cambodia had stepped up its military readiness at their border while diplomatic efforts were ongoing, describing that as "worrisome". The statement was in sharp contrast with one from the government just hours earlier, when it urged Cambodia to positively engage in dialogue via an existing mechanism between them. "The army is now ready for a high-level military operation in case it is necessary to retaliate against the violation of sovereignty," it said, ahead of a meeting of its armed forces top brass scheduled for Friday. "Operations of units at the border have been conducted carefully, calmly and based on an understanding of the situation to prevent losses on all sides, but at the same time, are ready to defend the country's sovereignty to the fullest extent if the situation is called for." Cambodia's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Thai military statement on Friday. The governments of the two countries had for days exchanged carefully worded statements committing to dialogue after a brief skirmish in an undemarcated border area on May 28 in which a Cambodian soldier was killed. Although the two countries have a historic rivalry, their governments enjoy friendly ties, partly due to the close relationship between their influential former leaders, Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen, whose daughter and son respectively are now the prime ministers in their countries. The issue comes at a tricky time for the Pheu Thai Party-led administration in Thailand as it battles to revive a flagging economy that could be hit by steep U.S. tariffs, while facing a challenge to its popularity having paused a signature cash handout to tens of millions of people. The party of the billionaire Shinawatra family has a troubled history with the Thai military, which twice toppled its governments in 2006 and 2014 coups. Deadly clashes between Cambodia and Thailand last erupted in 2011 over the Preah Vihear, a 900-year-old temple at the heart of a decades-long row that has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides. The International Court of Justice in 2013 ruled in favour of Cambodia in clarifying a 1962 decision to award it jurisdiction over the temple, saying part of the land around it was Cambodia's and Thai troops must withdraw from the area. Cambodia said this week it is committed to peace and plans to resolve the issue by referring disputes over four parts of their border to the ICJ and has asked Thailand to cooperate. Thailand says it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Thailand's edible insect market poised for explosive growth
BANGKOK: Thailand is positioning itself to capitalise on the rapidly expanding global edible insect market, which experts predict will grow by 25.1% annually between 2025 and 2030, as consumers worldwide increasingly turn to sustainable protein alternatives. Already ranked as the world's sixth-largest insect exporter, Thailand's deep-rooted expertise in insect farming and growing domestic market acceptance provide a solid foundation for expansion in this emerging sector. The shift toward insect protein comes as environmentally conscious consumers seek alternatives to traditional livestock farming, which generates approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. - Photo: The Nation/ANN By comparison, insect farming produces remarkably lower environmental impacts: - Producing one kilogram of insect protein generates just one kilogram of CO₂ equivalent—27 to 40 times less than conventional livestock - Requires 5-13 times less water and feed than cattle, pigs, and chickens - Can operate in limited spaces with significantly higher efficiency "Thailand has a competitive advantage with our rich heritage of catching, farming, and cooking a diverse range of edible insects," says Kasikorn Research Center in its latest market analysis. "The nation already produces over 7,000 tonnes of these 'economic insects' annually." While rising global temperatures pose challenges for traditional livestock—potentially reducing yields by up to 38%—many insect species actually thrive in warmer climates, potentially accelerating production cycles. This climate resilience could further strengthen Thailand's position in the global market as traditional protein production faces increasing challenges from climate change. For Thai farmers, insect farming represents a potentially lucrative opportunity: - Initial investment for a basic cricket farm ranges from 45,000 to 75,000 baht - Fresh insect sales can generate profits between 9,600 and 37,000 baht annually - Processing insects into flour could increase profits to 260,000 baht per year - Land-use efficiency can generate up to 9,300 baht per square meter—significantly higher than the 1,500 baht per square meter from broiler chickens or dairy cows Market Growth and Challenges The global edible insect market, valued at US$1.35 billion in 2024, is gaining traction particularly in Europe, the Americas, and East Asia. Insects are increasingly being utilised in protein powders, bars, and as ingredients in animal feed. Thailand currently accounts for 6% of the world's total insect export value (approximately US$586,000), with the United States as the primary destination market. Despite this potential, consumer acceptance remains a significant hurdle, with unfamiliarity and food safety concerns presenting obstacles to widespread adoption. The broader impacts of large-scale production also require careful monitoring. Nevertheless, with appropriate government support and promotion of both domestic consumption and exports, Thailand's edible insect sector could become a cornerstone of a more sustainable food system, generating substantial income while reducing environmental impacts. "With our combination of local knowledge, favorable climate, and alignment with global sustainability trends, Thailand is uniquely positioned to become a leader in this growing market," the research concludes. - The Nation/ANN
